Jean Mudge https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0173.0014
Today we’re living through a second great Age of Revolution that begs the question: What does Emerson’s revolutionary message have to say to the world now? The famous uprisings that set the stage for Emerson in the first Age of Revolution were the American and French Revolutions. Bloodied and often brutalized in these wars, citizens yet emerged with an established political framework and a sense of high promise. In America, leaders had originated documents of an exciting new democratic order, presenting a balance of power in government with the potential, by wider enfranchisement, of an ever-increasing popular voice. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were indispensable foundations for Emerson to build upon the freedoms that they proclaimed. Continue reading
