Transcendentalism and Political Consciousness

Question 1

How did early Transcendentalists engage with political issues?

Answer 1

They connected moral principles with democratic ideals and opposed injustice.

Question 2

What was the moral focus of Transcendentalism?

Answer 2

The elevation of individual conscience above social norms and legal systems.

Question 3

How did Transcendentalism relate to liberalism?

Answer 3

It emphasized individual rights, moral autonomy, and democratic ideals.

Question 4

Who was Margaret Fuller’s intellectual mentor?

Answer 4

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Question 5

What is the significance of Women in the Nineteenth Century (1845)?

Answer 5

It was a foundational feminist text advocating self-reliance and gender equality.

Question 6

What was Fuller’s view on self-dependence for women?

Answer 6

She believed women should unfold moral and intellectual strength from within.

Question 7

How did Fuller describe the relationship between men and women?

Answer 7

As fluid and complementary, with no absolute masculine or feminine traits.

Question 8

What did Fuller want from men in terms of gender equality?

Answer 8

The removal of arbitrary barriers and recognition of women’s inherent dignity.

Question 9

How did Fuller relate individualism and socialism?

Answer 9

She combined belief in individual dignity with calls for social cooperation and reform.

Question 10

Where did Thoreau write Walden?

Answer 10

At Walden Pond, where he lived simply and observed nature.

Question 11

What is Resistance to Civil Government more commonly known as?

Answer 11

Civil Disobedience.

Question 12

What was Thoreau’s view on government?

Answer 12

“That government is best which governs not at all.”

Question 13

What obligation did Thoreau believe he was bound to?

Answer 13

Only to do what he personally believed was right.

Question 14

How did Thoreau describe soldiers who blindly follow orders?

Answer 14

As machines, not men—no more worthy than horses or dogs.

Question 15

What did Thoreau say about people who serve the government without moral judgment?

Answer 15

They may serve evil unknowingly, acting without conscience.

Question 16

What was Thoreau’s position on rebellion?

Answer 16

Honest men must be ready to rebel and revolutionize against injustice.

Question 17

What did Thoreau say about passive opposition to slavery and war?

Answer 17

It’s ineffective; moral conviction must lead to action, not apathy.

Question 18

What did Thoreau think about those who disapprove yet support the state?

Answer 18

They are the most serious obstacles to reform.

Question 19

Where did Thoreau believe a just man belongs under an unjust government?

Answer 19

In prison, as an act of moral resistance.

Question 20

What wall did Thoreau see beyond physical separation from others?

Answer 20

A deeper spiritual or intellectual wall between the free and the unfree.

Question 21

How did Thoreau define true freedom?

Answer 21

Living according to conscience, not law or convention.

Question 22

What did Thoreau believe about citizenship?

Answer 22

True citizenship requires moral action and resistance to injustice.

Question 23

What is Thoreau’s legacy regarding intellectual freedom?

Answer 23

A model of independent thought and moral courage.

Question 24

How did Thoreau view materialism?

Answer 24

As a distraction from true purpose and moral responsibility.

Question 25

What is the importance of individual protest in Thoreau’s philosophy?

Answer 25

It is a moral duty when faced with unjust laws or government.

Question 26

What did Thoreau say about resistance versus compliance?

Answer 26

Resistance to evil is a higher obligation than blind obedience.

Question 27

How did Thoreau shape American individualism?

Answer 27

He emphasized the primacy of conscience over conformity.

Question 28

What is one criticism of Thoreau’s civil disobedience?

Answer 28

His prison experience was brief, limiting the depth of his perspective.

Question 29

What concern arises from individual protest on a global scale?

Answer 29

It may lack broader collective strategy or influence international opinion.

Question 30

What is a challenge in defining political conscience?

Answer 30

Balancing individual moral action with effective political change.

Question 31

What did Fuller say about women's self-dependence?

Answer 31

It must be honored, even though society discourages it in women.

Question 32

What dualism did Fuller identify in gender?

Answer 32

Male and female are parts of a shared human essence, not fixed roles.

Question 33

What did Fuller ask of men regarding feminism?

Answer 33

To remove arbitrary barriers and allow women to reveal their true worth.

Question 34

What is Thoreau's motto about government?

Answer 34

“That government is best which governs least.”

Question 35

What is Thoreau's ultimate belief about government?

Answer 35

That no government would be ideal when people are ready for it.

Question 36

What kind of respect for law did Thoreau criticize?

Answer 36

Blind obedience that overrides conscience and reason.

Question 37

What did Thoreau compare mindless soldiers to?

Answer 37

Men of straw or lumps of dirt, lacking dignity or humanity.

Question 38

How did Thoreau view office holders and politicians?

Answer 38

As morally blind, likely serving injustice unintentionally.

Question 39

When did Thoreau believe it was time to rebel?

Answer 39

As soon as the government commits moral wrongs like war or slavery.

Question 40

What did Thoreau criticize in passive citizens?

Answer 40

Their inaction, despite claiming moral opposition to injustice.

Question 41

Why did Thoreau believe unjust imprisonment was honorable?

Answer 41

Because it aligned one with justice rather than complicity.