But Emerson disavows complete amnesia. He lambasts those who forget the political injustices in which they are complicit, especially affluent Northerners who consumed Southern cotton and Caribbean sugar. They forget these injustices by limiting them to the South or the Caribbean, great way off.” For Emerson, this forgetting is intentional: any mention was “a “If made of [slavery’s] homicide, madness, adultery, and intolerable tortures, we would let the church-bells ring louder, the church-organ swell its peal and drown the hideous sound.” The reference to the church is telling, for an unreflective donation to an abolitionist, religious, or temperance society was akin to purchasing ignorance, merely to sots.” “alms One should remember complicity in slavery. In his 1841 Emerson “Self-Reliance,” mocked the abolitionist’s tenderness for black folks a thousand miles off,” reminding “incredible him afar is spite at home.” Empathy begins locally with poor,” with local laborers. In “love “my England Reformers,” he asks should professional labor and that of the “New “Why be paid so disproportionately to the labor of the porter and wood-sawyer?” Worse, these laborers, seeking credit, must grovel before the banker and lawyer. In his relative wealth, Emerson realizes the wide disparity between lot of me and the lot of thee, my poor brother, “the my poor sister.” Through daily commerce, Emerson encountered these laborers, developing solidarity with them. he muses, me pause to think.” Writing in early 1844, “Trade,” “gives Emerson still shied from political action, deriding socialism as a fad and the egalitarian communism of St. Simon, Fourier, and Owen as mindless conformity. In his August 1844 address, Emerson reversed his position, advocating “Emancipation” political action against evils at home and abroad. He asserted New England’s textile mills abused both local New England laborers and slaves on distant cotton plantations. Love belonged both at home and afar. After 1844, Emerson devoted his energies not to the labor question, but to
But Emerson disavows complete amnesia. He lambasts those who forget the political injustices in which they are complicit, especially affluent Northerners who consumed Southern cotton and Caribbean sugar. They forget these injustices by limiting them to the South or the Caribbean, “a great way off.” For Emerson, this forgetting is intentional: “If any mention was made of [slavery’s] homicide, madness, adultery, and intolerable tortures, we would let the church-bells ring louder, the church-organ swell its peal and drown the hideous sound.” The reference to the church is telling, for an unreflective donation to an abolitionist, religious, or temperance society was akin to purchasing ignorance, merely “alms to sots.” One should remember complicity in slavery. In his 1841 “Self-Reliance,” Emerson mocked the abolitionist’s “incredible tenderness for black folks a thousand miles off,” reminding him “love afar is spite at home.” Empathy begins locally with “my poor,” with local laborers. In “New England Reformers,” he asks “Why should professional labor and that of the be paid so disproportionately to the labor of the porter and wood-sawyer?” Worse, these laborers, seeking credit, must grovel before the banker and lawyer. In his relative wealth, Emerson realizes the wide disparity between “the lot of me and the lot of thee, my poor brother, my poor sister.” Through daily commerce, Emerson encountered these laborers, developing solidarity with them. “Trade,” he muses, “gives me pause to think.” Writing in early 1844, Emerson still shied from political action, deriding socialism as a fad and the egalitarian communism of St. Simon, Fourier, and Owen as mindless conformity. In his August 1844 “Emancipation” address, Emerson reversed his position, advocating political action against evils at home and abroad. He asserted New England’s textile mills abused both local New England laborers and slaves on distant cotton plantations. Love belonged both at home and afar. After 1844, Emerson devoted his energies not to the labor question, but to
Rousseau%20and%20Emerson%20on%20Solitude,%20Sympathy,%20and%20the%20American%20Indian.docx