Emerson's Civil Wars

Kenneth S. Sacks explores how America's first public intellectual, determined to live self-reliantly, wrestled with his personal philosophy and eventually supported collective action to abolish slavery. Ralph Waldo Emerson was successful in creating a national audience for his philosophy and enjoyed the material and social rewards of that success. Contrary to most other Emerson scholars, however, Sacks argues that Emerson resisted active abolition and did not become a supporter until events forced his hand. Committing to the antislavery movement was risky and ran against his essential belief in social gradualism. Events in the mid-1850s, though, hastened Emerson's conversion and he eventually became a leader in the movement. A study of an intellectual under the pressure to engage in political action, Emerson's Civil Wars enriches our understanding of Emerson's antislavery activities, life, and career.

'In this outstanding study, Kenneth Sacks probes the mind of one of America's most brilliant and complex thinkers as he grappled with the most divisive moral and social issue of his time, slavery. Gracefully written, combining prodigious research with exceptional intellectual insights, this study is a must read for all with an interest in Emerson and his time.' Len Gougeon, author of Virtue's Hero: Emerson, Antislavery, and Reform

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