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Being Alive

Season 1 Episode 2 | 56m 54s

Living at his cabin at Walden Pond, Thoreau finds solace in "wild" nature and pours himself into his journal, laying the groundwork for one of two books he writes there. His two-year stay includes regular trips to town, a transformative journey to Maine, and a night in jail in protest of a government that permits slavery — experiences that redefine his understanding of freedom.

Aired: 03/29/26 | Expires: 04/27/26
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.
Thoreau is introduced to Ralph Waldo Emerson and the radical ideas of transcendentalism.
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.
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