Transatlantic Transcendentalism

Demonstrates that Coleridge's influence on Emerson constituted a vital link in Transatlantic Transcendentalism. This new study argues that Coleridge was so influential in America because he provided a framework for American intellectuals to address one of the great questions of European Romanticism: what is the relationship between the Romantic triad of nature, spirit and humanity? As Samantha Harvey shows, Coleridge's thought galvanized Ralph Waldo Emerson and influenced two revolutionary movements: Boston Transcendentalism and the lesser known Vermont Transcendentalism of James Marsh. Both movements had a widespread influence on American letters and institutions, impacting the course of higher education, the national press, and the emergence of a distinctive and independent American literature and philosophy.