Analyzing the Parallel Between Frederick Douglass and Transcendentalist Thought as Outlined by "The American Scholar"

Frederick Douglass is undoubtedly one of the greatest orators, abolitionists and overall prominent figures of the 19th century; his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave and his fervent speeches given either in person or displayed for readers in his paper The North Star forever cemented the change in intellectual value whites associated with African Americans. Most academic study today involving Douglass' work views him only as a leading abolitionist in the fight against slavery and as a proponent of universal equality, common knowledge between scholars and non-scholars alike. While his biographers would certainly agree this to be an absolute fact, many scholars have seemingly overlooked the existing connections which tie Douglass' way of thinking to the Transcendentalist movement (aside from a few who have tied Douglass to Henry David Thoreau's writing style or noted the similar goals between abolitionists and Transcendentalists), the most noticeable connection being his fulfillment of the outlines specified in Ralph Waldo Emerson's The American Scholar. This speech when compared to the delivery and overall message of Douglass' "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" speech, coupled with the values he gained during his arduous upbringing as described in his autobiography, easily shows how numerous yet unannounced his ties to the Transcendentalist movement are, although these ties are seen beyond just The American Scholar.

In The American Scholar Emerson creates three defining principles which all men need to revere to become "Man Thinking" again: one must have a love and admiration of all things natural, must learn and respect the lessons of the past through reading and finally must put all his knowledge to good use and take action, all of which are echoed in the life and lessons of Douglass. Emerson details his first defining principle as a love of not only nature itself but of all things which are natural or just come naturally, from "the sun; and, after sunset, night and her stars" to "mean and women, conversing, beholding and beholden" (Emerson, 1610). He continues to say that one must "settle its value in his mind," meaning that this view of nature can be loosely defined and could be different from person to person. Douglass appreciation of all things natural stems from his well-known respect for all people and his belief that no matter what race, gender or any other bias people could have toward one another that people are universally equal to each other (shown by his outspoken advocacy of not only African American's rights but also women's rights and suffrage). Both Emerson's principle and Douglass' views are linked due to their appreciation of the intrinsic value of all things, these things being either what is found in nature or among people themselves. They both see equality in all, and from that can learn to appreciate, a deep Transcendentalist value.

The second principle of The American Scholar, the influence of "the Past" in the form of reading, reflects Douglass' love of reading during his childhood. Emerson has mixed views toward books, saying "Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst" (Emerson, 1612). Books teach scholars all of the lessons of the past, they serve to inform man about all of the progress humanity has made so far in a certain subject, which can be rewarding when used correctly. Emerson fears the incorrect usage of this knowledge, which results in scholars becoming "bookworms" who only absorb old information to regurgitate word-for-word at a later time. "Man Thinking" takes the knowledge of the old and works off of it, using it to help form his own educated opinion. Fredrick Douglass does exactly this early in his childhood, as outlined in his narrative. He describes that at the age of twelve he obtained a copy of "The Columbian Orator," a collection of essays created for school children. He says: "Every opportunity I go, I used to read this book... The moral which I gained from the dialogue was the power of truth over the conscience of even a slaveholder" (Douglass, 1906). From studying the old essays Douglass became enlightened to his horrid surroundings, effectively applying the old knowledge instead of simply retaining it: "It opened my eyes to the horrible put, but to no ladder upon which to get out" (Douglass, 1907). This combination of old knowledge with his newfound ideas for freedom greatly inspired him to find his own freedom, resulting in not only his first step toward emancipation but a correct application of books as desired by Emerson, and another step toward Transcendentalist thought.

The final principle which will turn man into "Man Thinking" is taking action or putting all the knowledge learned in the first two principles to good use - a sentiment Douglass never stopped practicing. Emerson brings up the notion that "the scholar should be a recluse" (Emerson, 1613), locked away somewhere where he can think to himself and be an academic genius. He argues that "inaction is cowardice," and that taking action and the application of the knowledge gained from the previous two principles is just as beneficial to learning as books are (Emerson, 1614). Douglass is the physical embodiment of this idea for so many reasons, since not for a minute after his escape from slavery did he stop taking action or preaching his values . By constantly putting all the knowledge he learned to good use, by frequently touring the country (and soon after his escape the United Kingdom) to give speeches on the abhorrence of slavery, describing in brutal detail in several autobiographies all the gross injustices he was forced to endure, by giving a message of hope and perseverance to the masses that slavery will certainly one day come to an end, Douglass utilizes the third principle in a way that no one since has quite been able to match. Even his escape from slavery shows his usage of what he has learned - the anti-slavery ideals he read in "The Columbian Orator" enabled his realization that man was not meant to be confined into any form of absolute and unquestionable servitude, prompting his long, harrowing (but never vacillant) attempt to steal back what the Transcendentalists believe to be entitled to everyone. His entire speech "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July," the fact that Douglass fearlessly displayed his anti (current)-American opinions on the most American of holidays shows not only his passionate stance toward abolition but how dedicated he is to taking action and trying to inspire others through his words. Beyond his speeches, he even founded his own anti-slavery newspaper, The North Star, which in doing so guaranteed him an audience of readers no matter where he was. All of these examples show how the third principle of action dominates Douglass' life and career, coinciding with the other two principles resulting in him being a Transcendentalist "Man Thinking" in the eyes of Emerson.

Aside from the connections present between Douglass and Transcendentalism through The American Scholar, other literary critics and scholars have made ties between Douglass and other standards of Transcendentalist thought. The essay "The Agitator and the Intellectuals: William Lloyd Garrison and the New England Transcendentalists" by Pat and Bill Ledbetter describes a correlation between Transcendentalists and Garrisonian abolitionists (despite their admittedly significant differences), the latter of which Douglass was a confirmed supporter of. It describes how similar the two groups' stances on slavery were: while abolitionists despised slavery for how obviously unjust it is Transcendentalists valued "the ideals of self-sufficiency, independence and individualism," continuing that "slavery violated this higher law, since man was meant to be free" (Ledbetter, 173). Douglass' ideas hold true to the Transcendentalist stance on slavery, since again Douglass was a renowned supporter of universal equality and rights be them for members of different races, genders or social statuses, paralleling the idea that the individual is what is truly important instead of superficial physical differences.

Another scholar links Douglass to the Transcendentalist movement through a comparison of literary works between Douglass' My Bondage and My Freedom (his second, more refined autobiography) and Henry David Thoreau's Walden. William W. Nichols, in his work "Individualism and Autobiographical Art: Frederick Douglass and Henry Thoreau," explains how both stories "each have at their center a concern with human freedom." While Walden is "Thoreau's attempt to create for himself an unusual degree of freedom from what he understood to be the life-denying claims on most men in the 19th century," My Bondage presents a view a freedom through "Douglass' effort to salvage his own and others' freedom and humanity from the violence and degradation of slavery" (Nichols, 145). Both authors created their own views of freedom which rebelled against the norms of the time; the contrast being between Thoreau's unique freedom in being completely self-sufficient and independent of technology and Douglass' want of freedom against the age-old institution of slavery. The exploration and discovery of their own forms of freedom, along with the actual execution of attaining them (Thoreau living near Walden Pond and Douglass escaping slavery) coincide with the Transcendentalist idea of valuing individualism and unique thought, the third point made in The American Scholar, arguing that both Thoreau's and Douglass' literary works and ways of thought are quite Transcendentalist, although the former was already known.

Frederick Douglass' life and literary & oratory career uphold many of the values which are mainstays in Transcendentalism, from all of the principles necessary to create "Man Thinking" as outlined in The American Scholar to the similarities in goals and values between the abolitionists and the Transcendentalists, such as their definition of freedom and the appreciation of individualism and self-reliance. The tribulations Douglass faced as a child and as a young man, the virtually sacrificed freedom he had to give away not only allowed for the abolitionist movement to pick up momentum but it expanded his learning and intelligence beyond anything the suppressed reading while incarcerated could have given him, likening himself to many of the prominent Transcendentalist thinkers of the time and becoming the "Man Thinking" Emerson wanted more of.

Works Cited:

Douglass, Frederick. "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave." The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Early Nineteenth Century. 5th ed. B. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.

Douglass, Frederick. "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?" The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Early Nineteenth Century. 5th ed. B. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The American Scholar." The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Early Nineteenth Century. 5th ed. B. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006.

Ledbetter, Pat, and Billy Ledbetter. "The Agitator and the Intellectuals: William Lloyd Garrison and The New England Transcendentalists." Mid-America. 62.Oct (1980): 173-185.

Nichols, William W. "Individualism and Autobiographical Art: Frederick Douglass and Henry Thoreau." CLA Journal. 16.Dec (1972): 145-158.