Emerson's Civil Wars: Spirit and Society in the Age of Abolition

Kenneth S. Sacks explores how America's first public intellectual, determined to live self-reliantly, wrestled with his personal philosophy and eventually supported collective action to abolish slavery. Ralph Waldo Emerson was successful in creating a national audience for his philosophy, and enjoyed the material and social rewards of that success. However, contrary to other Emerson scholars, Sacks argues that Emerson resisted active abolition for much longer than is currently thought, and did not become a supporter until events forced his hand. Committing to the antislavery movement was risky, and it ran against his essential belief in social gradualism. Events in the mid-1850s, however, hastened Emerson's conversion, and he eventually became a leader in the movement. A welcome corrective, Emerson's Civil Wars enriches our understanding of Emerson's antislavery activities, life, and career.