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Henry David Thoreau's Transcendentalist Movement

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When looking at the transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau would be the first names usually associated with this term. However, even in the years after, there were still individuals practicing transcendental concepts. Civil rights leaders Mohandas K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. are individuals who reflected similar ideals of transcendentalist thought. Not only did Thoreau greatly influence them, but both of these leaders are significantly relevant to the idea of transcendentalism with their nonviolent actions and concepts of logic and reason. The transcendentalist belief revolves around the idea of individuals and a belief in a higher reality, revolting against unjust institutions, appeals to logic and reason, and the spirituality of nature and the …show more content…

Among the individuals who were influenced by these ideals are Mohandas K. Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Despite the different time periods of each man, they all share a similar approach to oppression; nonviolent action. Both Gandhi and King practiced nonviolent actions when fighting against the law and successfully in the end managed to accomplish their goal. Thoreau had a great influence on them because he set a practical and useful tactic for fighting against the law. Just like how Thoreau was imprisoned for not paying a fine, King also served time in jail for his nonviolent protests. In a way, King mimicked Thoreau and thus was punished in a similar way. However, the imprisonment was not a setback for both of these individuals. During King’s sentence, he was able reflect on his actions and apply nonviolent approaches as his main weapon against racial inequality. Similarly, Gandhi implemented nonviolent resistances which gained independence for this country. All in all, Gandhi and King’s course of action reflects transcendentalist themes Thoreau

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