Main currents in American thought An interpretation of American literature from the beginnings to 1920
I. Old Boston: Conservatism of temper--a reaction from
the revolutionary enthusiasm of ’76. Emphasized by
refusal to entertain French romantic theories. The
renaissance delayed a generation. The home of the
stake-in-society principle; opposition to democracy 275
II. Fisher Ames and the Tie-Wig School: The spokesman
of Boston Federalism. A conservative, given to pessimism.
His political philosophy an adaptation of
English Whiggery to the Calvinistic conception of
stewardship; based on an absolute morality. Prosperity
and the Saints--the end of government to protect
property; hence it must be strong and coercive. Fear
of faction. A repository of aristocratic prejudice 279
III. Robert Treat Paine, Jr.--Wit: The last of the
eighteenth-century Wits. His verse. A Tory--attitude
towards the French Revolution. His prose. Contempt
for Jacobin doctrine 288
II. Winds of Political Doctrine
I. Changing economics after 1812--rise of industrialism.
A new spirit of nationalism. Danger of agrarianism,
particularism. Rise of the Whig party--middle-class
capitalistic. Menace of the new southern school of
states rights. Need of a new nationalistic theory of
the Constitution 296
II. Work begun by Joseph Story: A Massachusetts Republican.
Characteristics of New England Republicanism.
His shift to Whiggery. His _Commentaries
on the Constitution_: derived from the common law and
_The Federalist_. His view of the compact--interpretation
of “We the people” 299
III. Daniel Webster--Realist and Constitutionalist: Contrasted
with Emerson--English in temperament.
Two periods of intellectual development: an eighteenth-century
realist before 1825; a legalist afterwards.
A disciple of Harrington. Two early speeches:
_The Basis of the Senate, The First Settlement of New
England_--an elaboration of the economic basis of
politics. His economic theory--_laissez faire_. Shift
to protectionism due to changing economics of his constituents.
His reply to Hayne. His constitutional
theory in _The Constitution not a Compact_--his debt to
Story. His position on slavery--_The Seventh of
March Speech_. Effect on his reputation. Comment
of liberals. The Dartmouth College case. His failure 304
Part II
The Rise of Liberalism
I. The Renaissance: The movement of liberalism more
pronounced in New England because long restrained.
Ethical rather than economic; German rather than
French. Many-sided but rebellious 317
II. Liberalism and Calvinism
I. The stir in the church. French romanticism and
Unitarianism. The conservative reaction. The
dilemma of Calvinism--efforts to escape the horns of
dogma. The growth of rationalism. The philosophy
of Unitarianism--a recovery of the principle of primitive
Congregationalism. Elements of conservatism 321
II. William Ellery Channing: A spiritual nature, concerned
with two cardinal ideas: God’s love, man’s excellence.
Slow clarification of his thought. Major
tenets derived from Rousseau and the English Arians.
Attitude toward slavery. Theory of the political
state--approximation to the position of Jefferson. On
freedom of speech--the vital principle of Unitarianism 328
III. Liberalism and the Social Conscience
I. The Social Mind: The Puritan conscience individual
rather than social. Influence of Unitarianism in
awakening a sense of social responsibility. Beginnings
of reform 339
II. Perfectionism: An extreme expression of ethical
radicalism. John Humphrey Noyes, a Yankee Fifth
Monarchy man. His doctrines--expression in Conventions 342
III. Brook Farm: An attempt at an economic solution of
social maladjustments. Influence of transcendentalism.
Attitude of certain transcendentalists. Hostility
to Fourierism 346
IV. Abolitionism: The awakening of the New England
conscience to the evil of slavery. The Abolitionists a
remnant in Israel--their characteristics 350
IV. Certain Militants
I. William Lloyd Garrison: A flinty character. His early
life. _The Liberator._ A primitive Hebraist--his antagonisms.
His political theory founded on the Declaration
of Independence. A Perfectionist. Nullified the
Constitution. The strength and weakness of his
methods 352
II. John G. Whittier--Puritan-Quaker: The religion of
the Inner Light. A primitive Christian--a Come-outer.
Significance of _Leaves from Margaret Smith’s
Journal_. The politician amongst the Abolitionists.
Reasons for his break with Garrison. Not a political
thinker. His Abolitionist verse. His later verse. An
anachronism in industrial New England 361
III. Harriet Beecher Stowe--A Daughter of Puritanism:
Her Calvinist heredity. A sympathetic student of
New England psychology. Intellectual antecedents.
_Old-Town Folks_; _Poganuc People_. _The Minister’s
Wooing_ a defense of the Calvinist clergy. Her contact
with slavery--_Uncle Tom’s Cabin_; _Dred_ 371
Part III
The Transcendental Mind
I. The Genesis of Transcendentalism: An expression
of metaphysical Utopianism. Idealism long starved in
New England. Derived from Unitarian doctrine of
the open mind. German idealism and native impulses.
A glorification of conscience and will--romantic.
The note of mysticism. The outcome a
movement of criticism 379
II. Ralph Waldo Emerson--Transcendental Critic: His
theory of transcendental criticism. The early Emerson--an
ascetic. Influence of first trip abroad--_Nature_.
The gist of Emersonianism. Reasons for the
contrast between the real and ideal. Estimate of
democracy; theory of the political state--the ethical
absolute--a transcendental Jeffersonianism. Theory
of economics--bias towards Physiocratic conception.
A critic of contemporary America--its materialisms.
Attitude towards reform 386
III. Henry Thoreau--Transcendental Economist: His life-business
to explore the meaning of wealth. His life an
experiment in values. A Concord man who “signed
off.” A Hellenist interpreting spiritual values. The
problem of economics stated. Significance of _Walden_--suggestions
of William Morris. The challenge of
slavery: _Civil Disobedience_. Compared with Godwin’s
_Political Justice_--doctrine of individual syndicalism.
Admiration for John Brown. The extremest expression
of eighteenth-century individualism 400
IV. Theodore Parker--Transcendental Minister: His characteristics:
a fighting man, a revolutionary. Sermon
on _The Transient and Permanent in Christianity_--marks
the second stage of Unitarianism. His studies
in higher criticism; his doctrine. His conception of
human perfectibility--evolutionary. A primitive
democrat; a political critic. Attack on current
materialisms--criticism of Webster. A modern 414
V. Margaret Fuller--Rebel: An embodiment of transcendental
rebellions. The contradictions in her
character as explained by Freudian psychology. Her
training--a victim of sex. Contemporary analysis of
her character. An intellectual child of eighteenth-century
romanticisms--influence of Goethe. Transcendentalism--Brook
Farm. _Woman in the Nineteenth
Century_ and feminism. Work as a critic.
Career in Europe. Influence of Jean Jacques. The
price of her rebellions 426
Part IV
Other Aspects of the New England Mind
I. The Reign of the Genteel
I. Brahminism and the genteel in letters--a refined
ethicism. Dislike of realistic methods. Lowell’s
position 435
II. Brahminism and history: The New England school:
Ticknor, Jared Sparks--methods of the latter. Bancroft’s
_History of the United States_--an attempt at a
democratic interpretation. Prescott, Motley, Parkman--followers
of the romantic school. Parkman
considered 437
III. Longfellow: Influence of Germany. A poet of the
library--his aloofness--his translations. The slavery
poems. Characteristics 439
II. Nathaniel Hawthorne--Skeptic: A temperament detached,
rationalistic, unhopeful, skeptical about
Utopias. Neither transcendental nor Unitarian in
philosophy, but curious concerning evil. Intellectually
unlocalized--his aloofness from romantic Salem. Like
Jonathan Edwards in probing the psychology of sin.
Tendency to symbolism and allegory. His intellectual
poverty--revealed in _American Notes_. Brook
Farm and _The Blithedale Romance_--reasons for his
interpretation of Hollingsworth and Margaret Fuller.
The sterility of his later years 442
III. The Authentic Brahmin
I. Oliver Wendell Holmes--Beacon Street Wit: Decline
of his reputation. Holmes and Paine as wits. A child
of the eighteenth century turned romantic. A
rationalist--hatred of Calvinism. Defense of Boston--a
Brahmin rebel defending free thought. Attack on
equalitarianism--dislike of the plutocracy--indifferent
to proletarian problems. His heroes respectable.
An amateur--a minor figure 451
II. James Russell Lowell--Cambridge Brahmin: Of
the true Brahmin line. His intellectual confusions.
Influence of his Tory heritage--the Lowells. His
course determined by environment and certain dominant
personalities. Three periods of his intellectual
life: the Maria White period and his immersion in current
radicalisms--reflections in his verse and prose;
the professorial period--immersion in scholarship--his
shortcomings as a critic--as a political writer; the
ambassadorial period--influence of Godkin--resurgence
of Brahmin conservatism--fear of democracy--of
agrarian and proletarian movements--concern at
political corruption--failure to understand its causes--faith
in civil service reform. His escape to London--the
final Lowell an English liberal 460
Conclusion: Effects of the Civil War on earlier
romanticisms--destruction of the slave economy; strengthening of
the rival agrarian and capitalistic economies. Certain
anachronisms--eighteenth-century liberalism--local home
rule--submerged by movement of consolidation. Romantic literary
schools became obsolete. The sovereignty of the middle class
and the emergence of realistic criticism 473
Bibliography 475
Index 483
Book One • The Mind of the South