Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The American Scholar

For the publication of Phi Beta Kappa, see The American Scholar (magazine)

The American Scholar was a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1837 to the Phi Beta Kappa Society in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak as a result of his ground breaking work Nature, published a year earlier in which he established a new way for America's historically-young society to look at the world. The American culture was still heavily influenced by Europe 60 years after declaring independence, and Emerson was, for the first time in the country's history, providing a roadmap on how to escape from underneath that veil and build a new, American identity. Ralph Waldo Emerson photogravure from 19th century book This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Ralph Waldo Emerson photogravure from 19th century book This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... The American Scholar is the literary quarterly of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, founded in 1932. ... Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early nineteenth century. ... The Phi Beta Kappa Key The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society with the mission of fostering and recognizing excellence in the undergraduate liberal arts and sciences. ... Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country United States State Massachusetts County Middlesex County Settled 1630 Incorporated 1636 Government  - Type Mayor-council city  - Mayor Kenneth Reeves (D) Area  - City  7. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... Nature is a short book by Ralph Waldo Emerson published anonymously in 1836. ...

Summary

Emerson uses Transcendentalist and Romantic views to get his points across by explaining a true American scholar's relationship to nature. There are a few key points he makes that flesh out this vision: Transcendentalism was a group of new ideas in literature, religion, culture, and philosophy that emerged in New England in the early-to mid-19th century. ...

• "One Man" is the unity of all society working together to help each other, with one body part being no more important than the next.
  • People need to see themselves as a part of the whole, as necessary and essential to all of society. He states, "Man is not a farmer, or a professor, or an engineer, but he is all."
• The "American Scholar" has an obligation, as "Man Thinking" within this "One Man" concept, to see the world clearly, not severely influenced by traditional/historical views, and to broaden our understanding of the world from fresh eyes, to "defer never to the popular cry."
  • The scholar's education consists of three pursuits.
    1. Investigate and understand nature, which includes the scholar's own mind and person.
    2. Study "the mind of the Past" to gain new perspective and to try to "get at the truth."
    3. Take action -- interact with the world; do not become the recluse thinker commenting from afar.
  • The scholar's duty or "office" is to "cheer, to raise, and to guide men by showing them facts amidst appearances."

Importance

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. declared this speech to be America's "Intellectual Declaration of Independence." Building on the growing attention he was receiving from the essay Nature, this speech solidified Emerson's popularity and weight in America, a level of reverence he would hold through out the rest of his life. Phi Beta Kappa's literary quarterly was named after the speech. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. ... Nature is a short book by Ralph Waldo Emerson published anonymously in 1836. ... The American Scholar is the literary quarterly of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, founded in 1932. ...

External links

• The entire speech, verbatim.