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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 October 2024
It is hard to see the early Emerson as anything other than a racist. There are just far too many ugly comments in his journals; even in his earlier antislavery speeches he seems, at best, tone-deaf. But gradually Emerson began to have a broader view of race that resulted in his actually being a leader in speaking for racial equality and integration. How did this happen? The chapter evaluates how Emerson embraced and then renounced scientific racism. It also analyzes his compositional strategies within his journals. Often, Emerson posed unthinkable ideas there to provoke himself to move beyond a position. That is demonstrably the case with certain racist statements. It is not a straight line from racist to defender of a common humanity, but it is a discernible one. Emerson’s growth here parallels both his move toward abolitionism and his recalibration of self-reliance.
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