The Transcendental Club was a group of New England authors, philosophers, socialists, politicians and intellectuals of the early-to-mid-19th century which gave rise to Transcendentalism .
24-964: Frederic Henry Hedge , Ralph Waldo Emerson , George Ripley , and George Putnam (1807–1878; the Unitarian minister in Roxbury ) met in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September 8, 1836, to discuss the formation of a new club; their first official meeting was held eleven days later at Ripley's house in Boston . Other members of the club included Amos Bronson Alcott , Orestes Brownson , Theodore Parker , Henry David Thoreau , William Henry Channing , James Freeman Clarke , Christopher Pearse Cranch , Convers Francis , Sylvester Judd , Jones Very , and Charles Stearns Wheeler . Female members included Sophia Ripley , Margaret Fuller , Elizabeth Peabody , Ellen Sturgis Hooper , and Caroline Sturgis Tappan . Originally,
48-448: A changing body of liberal thinkers, agreeing in nothing but their liberality". Hedge wrote: "There was no club in the strict sense... only occasional meetings of like-minded men and women". It was sometimes referred to by the nickname "the brotherhood of the 'Like-Minded'". The club was a meeting-place for these young thinkers and an organizing ground for their idealist frustration with the general state of American culture and society at
72-445: A changing body of liberal thinkers, agreeing in nothing but their liberality". Hedge wrote: "There was no club in the strict sense... only occasional meetings of like-minded men and women". It was sometimes referred to by the nickname "the brotherhood of the 'Like-Minded'". The club was a meeting-place for these young thinkers and an organizing ground for their idealist frustration with the general state of American culture and society at
96-764: A greater familiarity with Kant than most of the Americans of his day. After graduating as valedictorian, he enrolled in Harvard Divinity School , where he met his intimate friend Ralph Waldo Emerson . After graduating from the Divinity School in 1828, Hedge was ordained as a Unitarian minister in 1829, and became minister at a Unitarian church in West Cambridge. In 1835 he took charge of a church in Bangor, Maine ; in 1850, after spending
120-842: A year in Europe, he became pastor of the Westminster Church in Providence, Rhode Island , and in 1856 of the Unitarian church in Brookline, Massachusetts . He was central to the development of Transcendentalism in the 1830s. On September 8, 1836, Hedge met with Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Putnam (1807-1878), and George Ripley in Cambridge to discuss the formation of a new club. Eleven days later, Ripley hosted their first official meeting at his house on September 18, 1836;
144-403: The age of 12, he traveled to Germany and studied music for five years under the care of George Bancroft . He then entered Harvard as a junior and graduated in 1825. His knowledge of German was to serve him well both in hymnody — he translated Luther's "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" (" A Mighty Fortress Is Our God ") into the most popular English version — and in philosophy, where it allowed him
168-417: The club included Amos Bronson Alcott , Orestes Brownson , Theodore Parker , Henry David Thoreau , William Henry Channing , James Freeman Clarke , Christopher Pearse Cranch , Convers Francis , Sylvester Judd , Jones Very , and Charles Stearns Wheeler . Female members included Sophia Ripley , Margaret Fuller , Elizabeth Peabody , Ellen Sturgis Hooper , and Caroline Sturgis Tappan . Originally,
192-561: The compilation of a hymn-book (1853), and published numerous translations from the German poets, including Martin Luther 's Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (" A Mighty Fortress is Our God "). His chief significance to American thought was his introduction of German scholarship and literature. Transcendental Club The Transcendental Club was a group of New England authors, philosophers, socialists, politicians and intellectuals of
216-470: The devil. Not God, but Satan, do they praise, and they can be relished only by devil-worshippers". In October 1839, members of the Transcendental Club had the idea of establishing their own periodical as a platform for their ideals. Initially, Brownson suggested utilizing his Boston Quarterly Review , though others thought their own magazine was necessary. Hedge, Parker, and Emerson declined
240-433: The devil. Not God, but Satan, do they praise, and they can be relished only by devil-worshippers". In October 1839, members of the Transcendental Club had the idea of establishing their own periodical as a platform for their ideals. Initially, Brownson suggested utilizing his Boston Quarterly Review , though others thought their own magazine was necessary. Hedge, Parker, and Emerson declined the role of editor. Ripley served as
264-406: The early-to-mid-19th century which gave rise to Transcendentalism . Frederic Henry Hedge , Ralph Waldo Emerson , George Ripley , and George Putnam (1807–1878; the Unitarian minister in Roxbury ) met in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September 8, 1836, to discuss the formation of a new club; their first official meeting was held eleven days later at Ripley's house in Boston . Other members of
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#1732771863729288-495: The foremost German literary scholar in the United States. He died in Cambridge on August 21, 1890, and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery . Besides essays on the different schools of philosophy, notably magazine articles on St. Augustine , Leibniz , Schopenhauer , and Coleridge , and other contributions to periodicals in prose and poetry, he published: He also wrote hymns for the Unitarian church, and assisted in
312-411: The group went by the name "Hedge's Club" because it usually met when Hedge was visiting from Bangor, Maine . The name Transcendental Club was given to the group by the public and not by its participants. The name was coined in a January 1837 review of Emerson's essay " Nature " and was intended disparagingly. James Elliot Cabot , a biographer of Emerson, wrote of the group as "the occasional meetings of
336-409: The group went by the name "Hedge's Club" because it usually met when Hedge was visiting from Bangor, Maine . The name Transcendental Club was given to the group by the public and not by its participants. The name was coined in a January 1837 review of Emerson's essay " Nature " and was intended disparagingly. James Elliot Cabot , a biographer of Emerson, wrote of the group as "the occasional meetings of
360-503: The group would eventually be known as the Transcendental Club . Its first official meeting was attended by Amos Bronson Alcott , Orestes Brownson , James Freeman Clarke , and Convers Francis as well as Hedge, Emerson, and Ripley. Future members would include Henry David Thoreau , William Henry Channing , Christopher Pearse Cranch , Sylvester Judd , and Jones Very . The group planned its meetings for times when Hedge
384-554: The managing editor and Fuller accepted the editor position on October 20, 1839, though she was unable to begin work on the publication until the first week of 1840. The first issue of The Dial , with an introduction by Emerson calling it a "Journal in a new spirit", was published in July 1840. The Transcendental Club likely did not have official meetings after September 1840, though they continued to correspond and attend each other's lectures. The Dial continued to be published, though it
408-424: The movement in print. Hedge visited Thomas Carlyle in 1847, who described him to Emerson as "one of the sturdiest little fellows I have come across for many a day. A face like a rock; a voice like a howitzer; only his honest kind grey eyes reassure you a little." In 1849 he preached a sermon, published as a pamphlet, on Joshua Young 's ordination as pastor to his first parish, Boston's New North Church . He
432-545: The role of editor. Ripley served as the managing editor and Fuller accepted the editor position on October 20, 1839, though she was unable to begin work on the publication until the first week of 1840. The first issue of The Dial , with an introduction by Emerson calling it a "Journal in a new spirit", was published in July 1840. The Transcendental Club likely did not have official meetings after September 1840, though they continued to correspond and attend each other's lectures. The Dial continued to be published, though it
456-610: The time, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University . Much of their thinking centered on the shortcomings of the Unitarian church. Many well-known American journals, including the North American Review and the Christian Examiner , refused to accept submissions from the Transcendental Club for publication. One early review of Emerson's poetry, for example, warned readers that his poems "are not sacred chants; they are hymns to
480-467: The time, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University . Much of their thinking centered on the shortcomings of the Unitarian church. Many well-known American journals, including the North American Review and the Christian Examiner , refused to accept submissions from the Transcendental Club for publication. One early review of Emerson's poetry, for example, warned readers that his poems "are not sacred chants; they are hymns to
504-482: Was a New England Unitarian minister and Transcendentalist . He was a founder of the Transcendental Club , originally called Hedge's Club, and active in the development of Transcendentalism, although he distanced himself from the movement as it advanced. He was also one of the foremost scholars of German literature in the United States. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts , Hedge was the son of Harvard University professor of logic and metaphysics Levi Hedge . At
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#1732771863729528-460: Was never financially stable. In 1843, then business manager Elizabeth Peabody counted only two hundred subscribers and that its income was not covering production costs. It finally ceased publication in April 1844. Emerson's speech/essay " Nature " has been considered a manifesto of Transcendentalist ideas. Frederic Henry Hedge Frederic Henry Hedge (December 12, 1805 – August 21, 1890)
552-942: Was noted as a public lecturer as well as a pulpit orator. In 1853-1854, he lectured on medieval history before the Lowell Institute . In 1858, Hedge returned to Harvard Divinity School as a professor of ecclesiastical history; that year, he also became editor of the Christian Examiner , a role he held for three years. The next year, Hedge began a four-year term as president of the American Unitarian Association . In 1872, he resigned his pastorship in Brookline to become professor of German literature at Harvard. He retained this position until 1881. Deeply read in philosophy, ecclesiastical history, and German literature, he ranked as perhaps
576-558: Was visiting from Bangor, Maine , leading to the early nickname "Hedge's Club". Hedge wrote: "There was no club in the strict sense... only occasional meetings of like-minded men and women", earning the nickname "the brotherhood of the 'Like-Minded'". He became alienated from the group's more extreme positions in the 1840s and did not publish in the Transcendental journal The Dial , despite his friendship with its editor Margaret Fuller , saying he did not want to be associated with
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