Chapter 4 Transcendentalist Principles: Analytical Framework
4.4 Transcendentalist Analytical Framework: Transcendentalist Principles
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and act according to that spirit enables individuals to feel at ease with themselves, and helps move society toward positive reformation.
4.4 Transcendentalist Analytical Framework: Transcendentalist Principles Emersonian Transcendentalism, which permeates nearly all Transcendentalist works, is comprised of four basic principles: the Over-Soul, Inner Divinity, Anti-Authority, and Self-Reliance. The first principle represents a mystical belief in the direct link between the universal soul and the individual soul; the second principle represents a moral belief in the sacredness that dwells in all people. The third
principle represents a political belief that the putative authorities, whether institutional or political, are not worthy of total trust; the last principle represents a practical belief that individuals should rely on themselves to become complete. Together, these four principles form the foundation of Transcendentalism. I find natural connections between these principles and the political philosophy of Thoreau, whose concept of civil disobedience I view as a demonstration of Transcendentalism.
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Chapter 5
Transcendentalism in Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”
This chapter elucidates how Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” resonates with the Transcendentalist Principles that I derive from Emerson’s Essays. The chapter contains six sections. In the first, I outline the historical background of “Civil Disobedience.” In the second section, I examine how the mystical principle – the Over-Soul – functions in Thoreau’s text. He exhibits the features of the
interdependency of souls by accessing the Universe, Nature, and others. In the third section, I scrutinize the elements of the moral principle – Inner Divinity – in “Civil Disobedience.” Thoreau prioritizes conscience and Higher Law over his worldly reputation and the dictates of civil law. In the fourth section, I investigate how Thoreau enacts the political principle, Anti-Authority. For him, governments,
institutions, and the mainstream are unreliable and unqualified authorities. In the fifth section, I explore the operation of the practical principle, Self-Reliance. I evaluate the three levels of Thoreauvian Self-Reliance: basic sufficiency), intermediate (self-motivation), and advanced (civil disobedience); each level consists of a defining spirit and corresponding actions. In the sixth section, I conclude the chapter by proposing the theory of the Thoreauvian political triad. Using a Transcendentalist analytical framework, close reading, and detailed textual evidence, I argue that
Transcendentalism fundamentally informs Thoreauvian civil disobedience.
5.1 Historical Background
This section traces the history of the composition of “Civil Disobedience,”
covering the revisions of the text’s title and the sources – three events, three contemporary figures, and four principles – that inspired Thoreau to write.
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5.1.1 The Thrice-Changed Title
According to Buell’s “Disaffiliation as Engagement,” the title of “Civil Disobedience” changed three times. It began as a lecture called “The Rights and Duties of the Individual in Relation to Government” (1848), became an essay titled
“Resistance to Civil Government” (1849), and ultimately was the posthumously published as “Civil Disobedience” (1866). According to Buell, this last title is a
“historical land mark: the first known usage of the term” (Buell 203). The term, civil disobedience, has since entered the political lexicon.
5.1.2 Three Events That Provoked Thoreau
“Civil Disobedience” is Thoreau’s direct reaction to three events: 1) the night he spent in jail, 2) his dissatisfaction about the Mexican War and 3) his indignation about slavery. According to Evan Carton, “Civil Disobedience” narrates and reflects on Thoreau’s one-night incarceration in Middlesex County Jail in July of 1846 where he was confined for refusing to pay a $1.50 Massachusetts poll tax (107). According to Gura, Thoreau viewed the tax as “a levy that directly connected him to the nation’s hostilities” (223), and he refused to be complicit in the conflict. Thoreau viewed the United States’ declaration of war against Mexico in May of 1846 over the territory of Texas as shameful and a violation of his conscience as a citizen. In addition, despite the motto of equality in the Declaration of Independence, slavery remained a powerful institution in nineteenth-century America. This appalled Thoreau, who believed that African-Americans should be entitled to the same rights as anyone else. To protest these injustices, Thoreau refused to pay the poll tax and, as a result, was forced to spend a night in jail.
5.1.3 Three Contemporary Models That Impressed Thoreau
In his civil protest, Thoreau drew inspiration from the ideas and actions of three
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of his Massachusetts contemporaries: 1) Amos Bronson Alcott who had refused to pay the poll tax, 2) William Lloyd Garrison who opposed national violence and 3)
Wendell Philips who dissociated himself from institutional injustice. According to Parker, Alcott stopped paying the tax in 1842 “to announce his refusal to take part in the oppressive machinery of the state” (187). After learning that Sam Staples, the tax collector and the jailer of Concord, had to jail him, Alcott went to jail voluntarily for
“nothing but principle” (188), which inspired Thoreau, who later joined Alcott in his refusal to pay taxes. Garrison, Thoreau’s second source of inspiration, opposed national and personal violence. Garrison contended that anyone who works for a state is complicit with violence because a state possesses violent institutions (militaries, police, and prisons), a conviction Thoreau reiterates in “Civil Disobedience.”
Thoreau’s last model was Wendell Phillips, an articulate abolitionist who Thoreau claimed to “admire wholeheartedly” (Packer 189). According to Packer, Phillips’s lectures on the subject of slavery helped Thoreau understand “what the state and church had to do with Texas and slavery” (189) and how much “the individual should have to do with church and state” (189). Phillips insisted that the individual must withdraw from connection with the unjust state and church, a notion Thoreau
incorporated into “Civil Disobedience” (190). In short, Alcott engendered Thoreau’s refusal to pay the poll tax, Garrison inspired his objection to state violence, and Phillips fueled his determination to dissociate himself from injustice; these three contemporaries served as the models of disobedience for Thoreau.
5.1.4 Four Principles That Motivated Thoreau
Apart from these three precipitating events (incarceration, the Mexican War, and slavery problem) and three contemporary models (Alcott, Garrison, and Phillips), I contend that Thoreau’s lifelong faith in the tenets of Transcendentalism – the
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Soul, Inner Divinity, Anti-Authority, and Self-Reliance – inspired him to write “Civil Disobedience.” In the following sections, I use an analytical framework based on the principles to analyze Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience.” First, Thoreau concretizes the Over-Soul through his jail experience, huckleberry-picking activity, and his ability to sympathize with others. He then embodies Inner Divinity by emphasizing conscience and Higher Law. In expressing his distrust of the government, institutions, and the various iterations of the mainstream, he embraces Anti-Authority. Lastly, he demonstrates his belief in Self-Reliance by presenting illustrative examples,
highlighting the importance of the principle in spirit and action. In other words, “Civil Disobedience” is a political work that expresses the mystical, moral, political, and practical dimensions of Transcendentalism.
5.2 “I Did Not Feel Confined”: the Over-Soul in “Civil Disobedience”
The first Transcendentalist Principle, the Over-Soul, is a mystical belief that every soul is part of a universal soul and, therefore, all souls are connected. In “Civil Disobedience,” I contend that Thoreau exhibits his belief in the Over-Soul in his relation with the Universe, Nature, and others by 1) reversing the meaning of the confined/ free, 2) picking huckleberries and 3) sympathizing with others.
5.2.1 Prison as an “Honorable Ground”: Access to the Universe
The ability to connect directly to the Universe without being restrained by the material obstacles is crucial to enacting the notion of the Over-Soul. Thoreau demonstrates this ability during his one night in jail; he accesses the Universe by inverting the meaning of the prison itself and embarking on a spiritual journey. The following examples show that Thoreau trusts more in the Over-Soul than in physical appearances.
First, Thoreau transforms the prison into a glorious house. In his mind, it is no
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longer a place of criminality but a “more free and honorable ground” (157) and “the true place for a just man” (157). Thoreau has confidence in the Over-Soul, and thus physical imprisonment or earthly penalties do not bother him. While according to worldly standards, he violates laws, in terms of universal values, he is the most sincere and qualified inhabitant of the Universe, because he still remembers his connection with the Over-Soul. For Thoreau, a violation of civil law is less serious than a deviation from the Over-Soul. He prefers being jailed for righteousness and his belief in the Over-Soul to being considered an obedient subject who neglects the Over-Soul.
Not until the night in jail does Thoreau recognize the strength of his connection to and faith in the Over-Soul. The temporal deprivation of physical freedom forces him to reconsider his relationship with the Over-Soul. His soul and thoughts transcend material boundaries. The walls of the prison cannot deter him from accessing the Universe and recognizing the Over-Soul:
I did not for a moment feel confined, and the walls seemed a great waste of stone and mortar ... I could not help but smile to see how industriously they locked the door on my meditation, which followed them out again without let or hindrance, and they were really all that was dangerous. (161)
Physical confinement does not equate to mental confinement. While jail confines the body, the mind remains free to roam. Thoreau distinguishes physical incarceration from mental imprisonment, reversing the meaning of locking up a prisoner. Indeed, physical confinement, ultimately, leads to spiritual emancipation. Recognizing the existence of the Over-Soul by accessing the Universe, Thoreau comes to see a prison as a place of honesty and prisoners like him as just men. Thoreau’s ability to
transform material disadvantage into spiritual transcendence testifies to his faith in the Over-Soul.
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Besides seeing the prison into a place of honor, Thoreau transforms his
incarceration into a spiritual journey throughout the Universe, outfitting the town of Concord in the exotic and ancient clothes of a medieval manor and rendering himself a chivalric knight of old. In doing so, Thoreau strengthens his attachment to his hometown:
It was to see my native village in the light of the middle ages, and our Concord was turned into a Rhine stream, and visions of knights and castles passed before me. They were the voices of old burghers that I heard in the streets. I was an involuntary spectator and auditor of whatever was done and said in the kitchen of the adjacent village-inn, – a wholly new and rare experience to me. It was a closer view of my native town. I was fairly inside of it. (164)
Unrestrained by time and place, Thoreau saunters spiritually. On the macrocosmic level, he sees no much difference between the past and the present (the medieval vs.
the nineteenth century), or the foreign and the local (European Rhine vs. American Concord). For the adherents of the Over-Soul, temporal and spatial differences disappear: all individual souls link together and belong to a universal soul.
When Thoreau returns to reality on the microcosmic level, he finds that this spiritual journey has strengthened his sensual abilities and reinforced his sense of belonging to his hometown. He successfully incorporates the apparently irreconcilable oppositions – the physical/spiritual, the restrained/unrestrained, the foreign/local, and the past/present – into his Transcendentalist philosophy. As a believer in the Over-Soul, he views these dualities as merely two sides of the same universal coin. Thus, in describing his the imprisonment, Thoreau reveals his connection to the Over-Soul, inverting the conventional understanding of imprisonment and transcending temporal and spatial boundaries.
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5.2.2 “In the Midst of a Huckleberry Field”: Access to Nature
In “Thoreau,” Emerson claims that Thoreau’s interest in “the flower or the bird lay very deep in his mind” (362) and that he was “connected with Nature” (362). In
“Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau depicts his affection for the natural world in the
huckleberrying episode during which he realizes that 1) Nature is more important than civilization and 2) communing with Nature can serve as a method of “alternative politics” (Mariotti 130). As soon as he is released from jail, Thoreau leads a party of friends into a huckleberry field to pick fruit; his friends rely on his familiarity with Nature and name him captain of the berry picking team. Once they arrive at the huckleberry field, he has an epiphany about the relationship between huckleberrying and the jail sentence: “[When I] was in the midst of a huckleberry field, on one of our highest hills, two miles off; and then the State was nowhere to be seen” (165). The physical height of the hills evokes an experience of a spiritual transcendence. He realizes that the huckleberry field symbolizes nature, a space above civilization and thus primary, whereas civilization (the jail, the government, and the state) is
secondary and derivative.
In “Huckleberrying toward Democracy,” Mariotti sees huckleberrying as an expression of Thoreau’s “own particular version of democratic politics” (129). He may not lead a mass protest, but “he is willing to lead a huckleberry party” (130). In doing so, Thoreau can exert political influence on his friends while simultaneously communing with Nature. Thoreau draws a parallel between the huckleberrying excursion and his experience in jail. His expertise in Nature makes him an ideal huckleberrying guide, and his jail experience qualifies him to pilot political
discussions. Stemming from the principle of the Over-Soul, Thoreau’s huckleberrying blends enthusiasm for nature with political practice, epitomizing his attachment to the natural world and his unique, ethically driven approach to political participation.
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5.2.3 “I Must Get off Him First”: Access to Others
Believing that individual souls can understand one another, Thoreau displays his sympathy for others in the case of not “sitting upon another man’s shoulders” (153).
He wishes to avoid making himself complicit in injustice. He claims:
“If I devote myself to other pursuits and contemplations, I must first see, at least, that I do not pursue them sitting upon another man’s shoulders. I must get off him first, that he may pursue his contemplations too” (153).
Thoreau refuses to seek pleasure at the expense of his social inferiors or to take advantage of those who bear unfair burdens. He sympathizes with the suffering of others and does not want to be an oppressor; he exhibits his consideration by refusing to participate the wickedness that deprives others of their freedom and rights, viewing mutual consideration and sympathetic tolerance as fundamental to treating others well. Without accessing others, one unconsciously participates in atrocity and
disgrace; by accessing others, one can forge links between individual souls and to the Soul. The ability to understand one another is a vital component of the Over-Soul; by refusing to add to the burdens other bear and thereby allowing them to pursue their goals, Thoreau demonstrates and exercises the spirit of sympathy and accessing others.
5.2.4 The Over-Soul: Access to the Universe, Nature, and Others
As a mystical dimension of Transcendentalism, the principle of the Over-Soul emphasizes the direct link between the universal soul and individual souls, facilitating access to the Universe, Nature, and other people. In writing about access to the
Universe, Thoreau inverts the conventional view of imprisonment, asserting that physical incarceration cannot deter him from pursuing spiritual freedom. In his explanation of the access to Nature, he endows the huckleberrying expedition with a
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double meaning: prioritization of Nature over civilization and an enactment of alternative politics. In his discussion of access to others, he highlights sympathy and consideration for other people as the basis for his refusal to implicate himself in oppressive behaviors. With faith in the Over-Soul, Thoreau unconstrainedly connects the Universe, Nature, and others. Thoreau’s description of his night in jail and the huckleberrying excursion and his explanation of his commitment to sympathetic identification exemplify the mystical dimensions of Transcendentalism, giving “Civil Disobedience” greater profundity and richness.
5.3 “A Higher Law Than I”: Inner Divinity in “Civil Disobedience”
In this section, I examine Thoreauvian civil disobedience through the second Transcendentalist Principle – Inner Divinity – a moral belief in the innate divinity of all individuals. I first discuss Thoreauvian conscience and then proceed to
Thoreauvian Higher Law. I argue that Thoreau’s belief in Inner Divinity leads him to emphasize conscience and warn that those who ignore their consciences will bleed spiritually. I also contend that Thoreau uses discussions of the law, tribute-money, and taxation to concretize the spiritual notion of Higher Law. Thus, in explaining the importance of conscience and Higher Law, Thoreau integrates the notion of Inner Divinity to “Civil Disobedience.”
5.3.1 “Why Has Every Man a Conscience?”: Thoreauvian Conscience
Whereas Emerson optimistically celebrates individual holiness, Thoreau focuses on how this divinity manifests as the conscience on both personal and communal levels, demonstrating people’s prevailing unwillingness to abide by the dictates of conscience. For Thoreau, the belief that everyone is sacred implies that everyone possesses a conscience. He contends that, on a personal level, only when individuals exert their consciences do they qualify as citizens; on a communal level, only when
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societies are comprised of honest people can they be conscientious. Thoreau also points out that the failure to act according to one’s Inner Divinity compromises individual morality. Juxtaposing soldiers who serve the state with their bodies, officials who serve the state with their minds, and heroes who serve the state with their consciences, Thoreau explains that reputation is not necessarily equal to
morality; being conscientious remains the priority no matter what position one holds.
5.3.1.1 “Be Men First, and Subjects Afterward”: the Importance of Conscience I theorize the importance of Thoreauvian conscience into three levels: conscience 1) manifests divine humanity on a general level, 2) reflects an individual’s duty on a personal level, and 3) contributes to society on a communal level. On a general level, Thoreau believes that conscience defines humanity: it enables individuals to
distinguish right from wrong, and thereby differentiates humans from animals. On a personal level, exerting conscience is an individual privilege and duty, and thus individuals should not elevate laws above conscience because laws are not necessarily conscientious. Thoreau writes: “I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward” (147). Thoreau’s distinction between men (individuals) and subjects comes down to conscience; to be a man requires a conscience whereas to be a subject
requires obedience. Individuals who act according to their consciences demonstrate their Inner Divinity: “Must the citizen ever for a moment . . . resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then?” (147). Thoreau contends that Inner Divinity makes acting conscientiously a moral responsibility, and an individual should not surrender this responsibility to legislation or authority. On a communal level, Thoreau views acting according to one’s conscience as a societal duty. Only a collection of honest people can make an upright society: “It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a
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corporation with a conscience” (147). Organizations are lifeless and inorganic, dependent on the people that comprise and manipulate them; thus, unconscientious individuals create indifferent communities, whereas upright individuals create fair ones. To build a conscientious state, citizens must understand their responsibility to enact their Inner Divinity.
5.3.1.2 “A Sort of Blood Shed”: the Wounded Conscience
In addition to describing the benefits of acting conscientiously, Thoreau details
In addition to describing the benefits of acting conscientiously, Thoreau details