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Henry David Thoreau and Transcendentalism

Season 1 Episode 1 | 5m 09s

After graduating from Harvard Divinity School, Henry David Thoreau is introduced to an electrifying new social movement: transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the first youth movement in American history, and it boils down to one simple, but powerful idea: that there is a spark of divinity within everyone, including enslaved people. This idea calls the entirety of American society into question.

Episodes presented in 4K UHD on supported devices. Major funding for HENRY DAVID THOREAU was provided by The Better Angels Society and its members: The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment and Mark A. Tracy. Major funding was also provided by Jeff Skoll, the Mansueto Foundation, Tyson Foods, Inc., and The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. Additional funding was provided by the Tyson Family Foundation Inc, The Neil and Anna Rasmussen Foundation, Roxanne Quimby Foundation Inc, Jim and Mona Mylen through The HeartSpace Fund, and Elizabeth Kenny.
Extras
Ken Burns Presents — A film by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers.
Filmmakers Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers discuss the making of 'Henry David Thoreau'.
The life and work of Henry David Thoreau still inspire and resonate with people today.
Thoreau moves in with Ralph Waldo Emerson's family, but personal tragedy strikes both families.
Henry David Thoreau spent his life experimenting and contemplating on how to live a good life.
After young Thoreau fails at a career in writing, he retreats to a cabin in the woods.
Leaving Walden Pond, Thoreau joins his cousin on an excursion to Mount Katahdin in Maine.
Thoreau's refusal to support what he saw as injustice culminates in his essay "Civil Disobedience."
While slavery is illegal in Massachusetts, Black communities are forced to the margins of society.
On July 4th, 1845, Henry David Thoreau moves into a 10x15-foot house on Walden Pond.
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After Walden, Thoreau takes on new roles and adventures as an illness catches up with him.
After young Thoreau fails at a career in writing, he retreats to a cabin in the woods.
Thoreau lives at Walden Pond where he writes, while exploring nature — and himself.