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Fighting for the Higher Law: Black and White Transcendentalists Against Slavery
In Fighting for the Higher Law, Peter Wirzbicki explores how important black abolitionists joined famous Transcendentalists to create a political philosophy that fired the radical struggle against American slavery.
In the cauldron of the antislavery movement, antislavery activists, such as William C. Nell, Thomas Sidney, and Charlotte Forten, and Transcendentalist intellectuals, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, developed a Higher Law ethos, a unique set of romantic political sensibilities--marked by moral enthusiasms, democratic idealism, and a vision of the self that could judge political questions from higher standards of morality and reason. The Transcendentalism that emerges here is not simply the dreamy philosophy of privileged white New Englanders, but a more populist movement, one that encouraged an uncompromising form of politics among a wide range of Northerners, black as well as white, working-class as well as wealthy. Invented to fight slavery, it would influence later labor, feminist, civil rights, and environmentalist activism.
African American thinkers and activists have long engaged with American Transcendentalist ideas about double consciousness, nonconformity, and civil disobedience. When thinkers like Martin Luther King, Jr., or W. E. B. Du Bois invoked Transcendentalist ideas, they were putting to use an intellectual movement that black radicals had participated in since the 1830s.
In the cauldron of the antislavery movement, antislavery activists, such as William C. Nell, Thomas Sidney, and Charlotte Forten, and Transcendentalist intellectuals, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, developed a Higher Law ethos, a unique set of romantic political sensibilities--marked by moral enthusiasms, democratic idealism, and a vision of the self that could judge political questions from higher standards of morality and reason. The Transcendentalism that emerges here is not simply the dreamy philosophy of privileged white New Englanders, but a more populist movement, one that encouraged an uncompromising form of politics among a wide range of Northerners, black as well as white, working-class as well as wealthy. Invented to fight slavery, it would influence later labor, feminist, civil rights, and environmentalist activism.
African American thinkers and activists have long engaged with American Transcendentalist ideas about double consciousness, nonconformity, and civil disobedience. When thinkers like Martin Luther King, Jr., or W. E. B. Du Bois invoked Transcendentalist ideas, they were putting to use an intellectual movement that black radicals had participated in since the 1830s.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published March 26, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 1, 2021
Through a careful and comprehensive presentation Wirzbicki successfully demonstrated his main argument: that Transcendentalism and Abolitionism went hand in hand from the 1830’s through the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865. More specifically, he argued that Transcendentalism articulated the importance of one aspiring to achieve self hood and to serve a Higher Law (one’s conscience) rather than convenience or convention which tolerated, if not endorsed, slavery. Abolitionism, on the other hand, provided a focus for the energy and action, as opposed to the armchair philosophizing, needed to transform society.
The author accomplished this in a number of ways. First, as with any solid piece of scholarly work, he integrated information from a wide array of primary and secondary sources. There were 76 pages of notes, some of which were annotated, at the end of the book.
Second, he did a credible job of providing a context to the history of philosophy, slavery, etc out of which these two movements arose. For a reader like me with barely any knowledge of Transcendentalism I was able to grasp the points Wirzbicki tried to make. Based on my knowledge of Abolitionist thought and history I can confirm that he did likewise with this aspect of the book.
Third, the book is organized in ways to enhance the reader’s experience. More specifically, the prose is generally readable, the chapters are divided up into sections, and there are a smattering of reproductions of paintings or photos of some of the people described.
I must also note, however, that Fighting has some modest flaws. On the one hand, I learned about many individuals in both realms whom I had never heard of before. On the other hand, it got to be a challenge to keep all of the names clear in my memory. Additionally, there were times when Wirzbicki presented events out of synch with each other. Eg, he would write about something which took place in the 1850’s but then go back to earlier times. Finally, the last two chapters covering the tumultuous 1850’s and the Civil War were largely focused on the evolution of Transcendental thinking in the context of their relationships with the Black Abolitionists. Not much was noted about the latter.
Overall I would recommend Fighting for any reader with an interest in either Transcendentalism or Abolitionism. This is the first mention of the relationship between the two which I have come across. I now have a list of a number of people I want to learn more about.
The author accomplished this in a number of ways. First, as with any solid piece of scholarly work, he integrated information from a wide array of primary and secondary sources. There were 76 pages of notes, some of which were annotated, at the end of the book.
Second, he did a credible job of providing a context to the history of philosophy, slavery, etc out of which these two movements arose. For a reader like me with barely any knowledge of Transcendentalism I was able to grasp the points Wirzbicki tried to make. Based on my knowledge of Abolitionist thought and history I can confirm that he did likewise with this aspect of the book.
Third, the book is organized in ways to enhance the reader’s experience. More specifically, the prose is generally readable, the chapters are divided up into sections, and there are a smattering of reproductions of paintings or photos of some of the people described.
I must also note, however, that Fighting has some modest flaws. On the one hand, I learned about many individuals in both realms whom I had never heard of before. On the other hand, it got to be a challenge to keep all of the names clear in my memory. Additionally, there were times when Wirzbicki presented events out of synch with each other. Eg, he would write about something which took place in the 1850’s but then go back to earlier times. Finally, the last two chapters covering the tumultuous 1850’s and the Civil War were largely focused on the evolution of Transcendental thinking in the context of their relationships with the Black Abolitionists. Not much was noted about the latter.
Overall I would recommend Fighting for any reader with an interest in either Transcendentalism or Abolitionism. This is the first mention of the relationship between the two which I have come across. I now have a list of a number of people I want to learn more about.
April 17, 2021
I received an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley.
This is a really fascinating book about the interplay between the Transcendentalist and abolitionist movements in New England in the decades before the Civil War.
It's not a quick read, but it is accessible to a non-specialist, engaging, and like I said--it's genuinely interesting stuff. While much of the focus is on the philosophical contributions of transcendentalism to New England abolitionists, it also addresses some of the more general interactions between a variety of intellectual movements in the mid-19th century both in the US and in Europe.
While I suspect some background knowledge of 19th century intellectual history is probably beneficial in getting the most out of this book, the author does a good job of introducing most of the concepts and individuals he discusses. It's thought-provoking and informative, and ultimately, the philosophical and ideological underpinnings of these 19th century movements remain relevant today.
This is a really fascinating book about the interplay between the Transcendentalist and abolitionist movements in New England in the decades before the Civil War.
It's not a quick read, but it is accessible to a non-specialist, engaging, and like I said--it's genuinely interesting stuff. While much of the focus is on the philosophical contributions of transcendentalism to New England abolitionists, it also addresses some of the more general interactions between a variety of intellectual movements in the mid-19th century both in the US and in Europe.
While I suspect some background knowledge of 19th century intellectual history is probably beneficial in getting the most out of this book, the author does a good job of introducing most of the concepts and individuals he discusses. It's thought-provoking and informative, and ultimately, the philosophical and ideological underpinnings of these 19th century movements remain relevant today.
December 30, 2022
I offered to do a book review on this for a small journal because I thought it might tie into my research. While it doesn't really tie into anything I'm working on now, I still found it an engaging read. Wirzbicki has an incredible grasp of Transcendentalism and makes an effective argument for abolitionism and Transcendentalism feeding each other throughout the 19th century. If, like me, that kind of thing is your jam then you should totally read it. If you don't care much for historical analyses of literary movements, then this probably isn't for you. :)
February 21, 2023
I am thrilled to have encountered another historian who shares my interpretation of the vital role that Transcendentalism played in the Civil War era. Engagingly written and combining little known historical actors with the famous names, Wirzbicki’s book should become essential reading for anyone seeking a deeper vision of Civil War abolitionism. I am excited to see where this book will steer the trends of historiography in the common years. It has been a long-needed reexamination.
June 29, 2022
Beautifully written, well-researched, fascinating history
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews