An Innate Transcendentalist, Frederick Douglass

Anja Shipp

Engl 204

February 12, 2006

An Innate Transcendentalist, Frederick Douglass

Transcendentalism, from the Latin, means “overpassing.” This American movement, which began in New England circa 1836, initially sprouted from the notion of breaking free from England. This social and spiritual philosophy contains six major points:

1. Trust your own intuition as truth and recognize the innate goodness of man;

2. Know who you are so that you know who you will be;

3. Be the best person that you can be by endeavoring to learn;

4. Young people sometimes hold the greatest truths;

5. Do not apologize for your life, and,

6. Once you know your truths, practice them.

My personal, condensed definition of this philosophy is that one should strive to find the strength to believe in oneself. To be an “intellectual, moral, and accountable being” (964) are all transcendental attributes Frederick Douglass embraced naturally from a conscious young age.

Although Frederick witnessed much badness, much wicked