Ralph Waldo Emerson
Recent articles by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The President's Proclamation
Ralph Waldo Emerson hails Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
Thoreau
"The country knows not yet, or in the least part, how great a son it has lost."
American Civilization
As the Civil War ground on, and the fate of the young nation hung in the balance, Ralph Waldo Emerson argued vehemently for a federal emancipation of the slaves. "Morality," above all else, he asserted, "is the object of government." He lauded President Lincoln for his principled moves in that direction.