Transcendentalism

Henry David Thoreau

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Transcendentalism is  a religious movement where people had faith that they could be the best person they are if they stay true to themselves. The society was based on the goodness of people.


  Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American transcendentalist poet and philosopher. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nobody can bring you peace, but yourself." Ralph was saying that you can only feel at peace or you can only be peaceful if you're own body and mind set is to be at peace. He was also saying that it is your choice to be at peace or not, its not anyone else's decision. Another quote by Ralph Emerson was, "The only way to have a friend is to be one." He was saying that people cannot ask for friends or expect someone to be their friend if they can't treat another person the same way.

Henry David Thoreau was also an American transcendentalist poet and philosopher. Henry Thoreau once said, "Its not what you look at that matters, its what you see."Henry was saying that anyone could look at an object, but it is the way you perceive it, meaning that anyone could look at something, but it is the way you decide to interpret it. He was also saying that people could be looking at the same thing and could have completely different feelings and meanings toward it. Another quote by Henry Thoreau was, "Things do not change we change." Henry was saying that nothing changes. Everything stays the same until you change yourself. Once you change yourself your mind and thoughts begin to change, not the thing itself.

Trail of Tears

In 1838 and 1839 Andrew Jackson forced the Cherokee nation, a Native American tribe, to give up their lands east of the Mississippi River and to move to what is now called Oklahoma. This was part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, which was a law that  authorized the President to take unsettled lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for lands that belonged to the Indians. The journey that the Native Americans took was known as "The Trail of Tears" because it took a lot of devastating effects on them, such as hunger and disease.

Trail of Tears

Black Hawk War

The Black Hawk War was a war in 1832. Sac and Fox Indians left their territory in Iowa to return to their lands in Illinois. White settlers grew angry and formed a militia. The militia could not find the Indians at first, but once they were found they engaged in a major conflict.

Second Seminole War

The Second Seminole War was a conflict in Florida between different groups of Native Americans, known as the Seminoles, and the United States. These conflicts in 1835 to 1842, became known as the Seminole Wars. The United States took possession of Florida and after a few years the Seminoles established a reservstion. The white settlers were trying to force the Indians out and move somewhere else. The Seminoles resisted and the white settlers got angry, which caused the conflict.

Native Americans on their journey