On August 31, 1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson greeted the newest members of Harvard University’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter with an address titled “The American Scholar.” Emerson had abandoned Christian orthodoxy and even Unitarianism for Transcendentalism. However, he had yet to emerge as the leading figure of the intellectual collective who eventually congregated out in Concord.…
Todd C. ReamNovember 8, 2024