Individuality in America Over Time In American life today individualism is very important, but that has not always been the case. The American philosophy of puritanism did not believe in individualism at all. The next philosophy, deism, believed that reason and the opinion of a person should go hand-in-hand. Transcendentalism, the last philosophy, believed that individualism should be celebrated. Throughout the major literary philosophies in the United States, one can see how the importance of the individual increases. The followers of the first American philosophy, which is puritanism, were strictly conformist in all aspects of life. Arthur Miller, author of the play The Crucible, painstakingly researched the puritan era in order to accurately
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In the “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, Patrick Henry states that men should be able to “speak [their feelings] freely and without reserve”(122). At this time, Henry is giving a speech to the other delegates at the convention. He intends to persuade them that it is necessary to go to war with Britain. During this particular part of the speech, Henry explains that he intends to speak his mind. His assurance that he should have the ability to share his thoughts ties in with the deist idea of public spheres which are places that people could go to to share their opinions. In “Franklin’s Autobiography”, Benjamin Franklin explains the way "[he] conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection”(168). Franklin explains that he decided to improve himself. He is going against the traditional way, and being his own individual. This displays how deism evolved from puritism and allowed for more individualism. To summarize, deists allowed for individualism as long as it was paired with reason. The opinions of people mattered to the deists, unlike …show more content…
In “Self-Reliance”, Ralph Waldo Emerson explains that he believes "Society is a joint-stock company in which the members agree for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater”(247). Transcendentalists felt that society robbed people of their individualism and freedom. Moreover, transcendentalists believed that the value of the individual was important, like the deists, so they were not very fond of the idea that society ran like a business. The transcendentalists’ dislike for losing their personal freedoms to society proves that they respected the idea of individualism. Again in “Self-Reliance”, Emerson states that people need to "Trust [themselves]: Every heart vibrates to [their] iron string”(246). Emerson means that each person should be unique. In the philosophy of transcendentalism, it was believed that it was important to express oneself and embrace being different. This quote displays the fact that transcendentalism valued individualism very much.Overall, transcendentalism built off of deism. The followers of this philosophy were even more individualistic than their
In the “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, Patrick Henry states that men should be able to “speak [their feelings] freely and without reserve”(122). At this time, Henry is giving a speech to the other delegates at the convention. He intends to persuade them that it is necessary to go to war with Britain. During this particular part of the speech, Henry explains that he intends to speak his mind. His assurance that he should have the ability to share his thoughts ties in with the deist idea of public spheres which are places that people could go to to share their opinions. In “Franklin’s Autobiography”, Benjamin Franklin explains the way "[he] conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection”(168). Franklin explains that he decided to improve himself. He is going against the traditional way, and being his own individual. This displays how deism evolved from puritism and allowed for more individualism. To summarize, deists allowed for individualism as long as it was paired with reason. The opinions of people mattered to the deists, unlike …show more content…
In “Self-Reliance”, Ralph Waldo Emerson explains that he believes "Society is a joint-stock company in which the members agree for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater”(247). Transcendentalists felt that society robbed people of their individualism and freedom. Moreover, transcendentalists believed that the value of the individual was important, like the deists, so they were not very fond of the idea that society ran like a business. The transcendentalists’ dislike for losing their personal freedoms to society proves that they respected the idea of individualism. Again in “Self-Reliance”, Emerson states that people need to "Trust [themselves]: Every heart vibrates to [their] iron string”(246). Emerson means that each person should be unique. In the philosophy of transcendentalism, it was believed that it was important to express oneself and embrace being different. This quote displays the fact that transcendentalism valued individualism very much.Overall, transcendentalism built off of deism. The followers of this philosophy were even more individualistic than their