About the book
In Fighting for the Higher Law, Peter Wirzbicki explores how important black abolitionists joined famous Transcendentalists to create a political philosophy that fired the radical struggle against American slavery.
In the cauldron of the antislavery movement, antislavery activists, such as William C. Nell, Thomas Sidney, and Charlotte Forten, and Transcendentalist intellectuals, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, developed a \"Higher Law\" ethos, a unique set of romantic political sensibilities—marked by moral enthusiasms, democratic idealism, and a vision of the self that could judge political questions from \"higher\" standards of morality and reason. The Transcendentalism that emerges here is not simply the dreamy philosophy of privileged white New Englanders, but a more populist movement, one that encouraged an uncompromising form of politics among a wide range of Northerners, black as well as white, working-class as well as wealthy. Invented to fight slavery, it would influence later labor, feminist, civil rights, and environmentalist activism.
African American thinkers and activists have long engaged with American Transcendentalist ideas about \"double consciousness,\" nonconformity, and civil disobedience. When thinkers like Martin Luther King, Jr., or W. E. B. Du Bois invoked Transcendentalist ideas, they were putting to use an intellectual movement that black radicals had participated in since the 1830s.
Editions of Fighting for the Higher Law
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9780812252910
- EBook
- ISBN 9780812297898
Read an Excerpt
In Fighting for the Higher Law, Peter Wirzbicki explores how important black abolitionists joined famous Transcendentalists to create a political philosophy that fired the radical struggle against American slavery.
In the cauldron of the antislavery movement, antislavery activists, such as William C. Nell, Thomas Sidney, and Charlotte Forten, and Transcendentalist intellectuals, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, developed a \"Higher Law\" ethos, a unique set of romantic political sensibilities—marked by moral enthusiasms, democratic idealism, and a vision of the self that could judge political questions from \"higher\" standards of morality and reason. The Transcendentalism that emerges here is not simply the dreamy philosophy of privileged white New Englanders, but a more populist movement, one that encouraged an uncompromising form of politics among a wide range of Northerners, black as well as white, working-class as well as wealthy. Invented to fight slavery, it would influence later labor, feminist, civil rights, and environmentalist activism.
African American thinkers and activists have long engaged with American Transcendentalist ideas about \"double consciousness,\" nonconformity, and civil disobedience. When thinkers like Martin Luther King, Jr., or W. E. B. Du Bois invoked Transcendentalist ideas, they were putting to use an intellectual movement that black radicals had participated in since the 1830s.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Fighting for the Higher Law about?
In Fighting for the Higher Law, Peter Wirzbicki explores how important black abolitionists joined famous Transcendentalists to create a political philosophy that fired the radical struggle against American slavery.
In the cauldron of the antislavery movement, antislavery activists, such as William C. Nell, Thomas Sidney, and Charlotte Forten, and Transcendentalist intellectuals, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, developed a \"Higher Law\" ethos, a unique set of romantic political sensibilities—marked by moral enthusiasms, democratic idealism, and a vision of the self that could judge political questions from \"higher\" standards of morality and reason. The Transcendentalism that emerges here is not simply the dreamy philosophy of privileged white New Englanders, but a more populist movement, one that encouraged an uncompromising form of politics among a wide range of Northerners, black as well as white, working-class as well as wealthy. Invented to fight slavery, it would influence later labor, feminist, civil rights, and environmentalist activism.
African American thinkers and activists have long engaged with American Transcendentalist ideas about \"double consciousness,\" nonconformity, and civil disobedience. When thinkers like Martin Luther King, Jr., or W. E. B. Du Bois invoked Transcendentalist ideas, they were putting to use an intellectual movement that black radicals had participated in since the 1830s.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Fighting for the Higher Law?
History and Archaeology > History > History of the Americas
Where can I read a sample of Fighting for the Higher Law?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780812252910
How long is Fighting for the Higher Law and how many pages does it have?
Fighting for the Higher Law has 384 page(s)
Is Fighting for the Higher Law part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series America in the Nineteenth Century
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Fighting for the Higher Law?
Peter Wirzbicki
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Fighting for the Higher Law is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780812252910) and ebook(ISBN 9780812297898)
Where can I buy Fighting for the Higher Law online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Fighting for the Higher Law from below
Where can I buy Fighting for the Higher Law?