Transcendentalism And The Second Great Awakening

In the nineteenth century, Transcendentalism and the Second Great Awakening were responses to the eighteenth century Market Revolution. Opportunities became available to society which led to the growth of the American people. This paper will argue the significant impact to which caused changes in America society as a result of these two movements. The Market Revolution began to take over the United States in the eighteen century. American innovations changed the way people were transported both domestically and industrially. The development of American technology transformed how commodities were being processed it also helped America become a more productive society. These new traditions of transporting goods connected small towns to the rest of the …show more content…
This was a time for Americans to get back into their spiritual journey that they strayed from during the revolution. The transcendentalism movement occurred during the late 1820’s and 1830’s. The movement was a religious objection against the church. The transcendentalists believed structured religion caused people to become less wholesome. They believed the church corrupted people in which personal knowledge is gained through intuition.(voices.p.176) According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “ The American scholar states, “people are so busy they hardly take the time to communicate with others.”(Voices. 176) The movement is a response of the market revolution because society became materialistic and greedy, “The restless, competitive world of the market revolution strongly encourages the identification of American freedom with the absence of restraints oneself direction individuals seeking economic advantages and personal development(Foner.