The revolution of “no”

Jeffrey Cramer, curator of the Walden Woos Project, analyzes the thought and present relevance of Thoreau and his civil disobedience.

Jeffrey Cramer is the curator of collections at the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods Library and is in charge of projects such as the Walden Woods Project and the Ralph Waldo Emerson Society. He is the editor of several books on American literature.

See the interview.

IHU On-Line - How can one characterize the influence of German Idealism on the emergence of American Transcendentalism in general and on Thoreau’s writings in particular? Is there any evidence that Thoreau read any of Kant’s works?

Jeffrey Cramer - Although the ideas of Kant were brought to the Transcendental Circle through Frederick Hedge, who undoubtedly shared those ideas with his friends, and through the writings of Thomas Carlyle, as well as Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Aids to Reflections, there is no evidence that Thoreau himself read Kant or other German idealists. His main contact would be filtered through other writers.

IHU On-Line - By the way, how can one characterize American Transcendentalism?

Jeffrey Cramer - Very simply, it is, as Emerson said, idealism. Or, faith in things unseen. It is the idea that we can intuit truth directly from God, that truth transcends our day-to-day experiences, and we know right from wrong without needing to learn it. American Transcendentalism carries with it a strong sense of social reform through self-reformation.

IHU On-Line - How can one explain the fact that such a small town like Concord became the epicenter of American Transcendentalism?

Jeffrey Cramer - Simply because Emerson, himself the epicenter of American Transcendentalism, moved to Concord in 1835. He had been temporarily living there the year before, staying with his step-grandfather, Ezra Ripley, at the Old Manse (made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne) and where Emerson wrote his book, Nature. Thoreau was a native-born Concordian. Bronson Alcott moved to Concord because of Emerson.

IHU On-Line - Was Thoreau an attentive reader of William Paley in Resistance to Civil Government or was he responding to a scarecrow created for rhetorical purposes?

Jeffrey Cramer - Thoreau read Paley and was attentive. Whether a “scarecrow created for rhetorical purposes” or not, Thoreau found something to which he felt compelled to respond. How much of “Resistance to Civil Government” (“Civil Disobedience”) was a direct response to Paley and how much Paley was merely a spring-board is open to debate. Thoreau was an attentive reader but also an uncommitted one. As he said, “When I read an indifferent book it seems the best thing I can do, but the inspiring volume hardly leaves me leisure to finish its latter pages. It is slipping out of my fingers while I read. It creates no atmosphere in which it may be perused, but one in which its teachings may be practiced. It confers on me such wealth that I lay it down with the least regret. What I began by reading I must finish by acting.”

IHU On-Line - What kind of contact did Thoreau have with Unitarianism? Was there a lasting influence of it on his writings?

Jeffrey Cramer - He was baptized in the Unitarian church but, as an adult, signed off from it, officially severing his ties with is. He was not an advocate of formalized religion, and took a pantheistic approach to God and spirituality. What he experienced first-hand in relation to the divinity within us all could not be found in any one religion.

IHU On-Line - Are Thoreau’s activities with the Underground Railroad his clearest example of civil disobedience? In what way was this expressed?

Jeffrey Cramer - Certainly this would be one clear example – housing fugitive enslaved persons, feeding them, nursing them back to health, buying tickets on the railroad and seeing them safely on their way to Canada – although more famous would be his night in jail as way to protest a government that allowed for the institution of slavery to exist. His writing of this experience in the essay now known as “Civil Disobedience” has been a major influence around the world in the obligations of the individual to fight against injustice.

IHU On-Line - Would it be possible to trace Thoreau’s autobiographical effort in the Journals to some inspiration in classic literature? What was the origin of his almost obsessive interest in accounts in the first-person singular?

Jeffrey Cramer - It actually came from a discussion he had had with Emerson, who was perhaps Thoreau’s greatest influence, in which Emerson asked Thoreau, “Do you keep a journal?” From that day forth Thoreau wrote in his journal almost until, in his last year, he was too ill to do so.

IHU On-Line - When rendering accounts in the chapter called Economy Thoreau tells that he spent U$ 28,12 ½ to buy the materials for his cabin. Have you ever wondered what would be the equivalent amount of that in the present?

Jeffrey Cramer - It is equivalent to about $860 today.

IHU On-Line - What would a face to face conversation between Donald Trump and Thoreau look like? Would there be any urgent topic?

Jeffrey Cramer - Would not happen. Period. Thoreau would have found it a waste of his time to discuss political issues with a politician.

IHU On-Line - Could you give us a brief personal account of your activities in The Walden Woods Project? And also of the importance of the Thoreau Institute for the preservation of his legacy?

Jeffrey Cramer - As Curator of Collections for the Walden Woods Project I maintain the world’s most comprehensive collection of Thoreau-related material. I help people with their research on all aspects and at all levels, from Pulitzer Prize-winning scholars to high-school students, from writers to enthusiasts, whether in our Thoreau Institute library or over email, or talking with students around the world with our “Skype in the Classroom” program.

By collecting all work by and about Thoreau in one place – more than 60,000 items that include books, manuscripts, periodicals, art, music, maps, pamphlets, correspondence, and personal histories – we are stewards of his legacy. There is no comparable collection anywhere.

IHU On-Line - Would you like to add anything?

Jeffrey Cramer - Too often Thoreau is dismissed by those who know him by reputation and myth but have not taken the time to really read his works. I would recommend that anyone who is curious about this iconic American author take one of his books or essays or a selection form his journals and see for themselves. It may be one of the best things they do.