1.2: Individuality, Conflict, and Context
Read this speech and Truth's famous oration, which follows, in conversation with one another. In his remarks, delivered at Harvard University in 1837, Emerson called for a new creative spirit in America; America evidently responded in kind. Many consider this speech the rallying cry for the American Renaissance. Truth's speech at a Women's Rights Convention in 1851 offers an alternative account of the challenges Americans – especially women and people of color – faced in defining themselves during this period. Consider how Emerson and Truth defined self-making in their very different cultural contexts. This trope of "self-making" will resurface time and time again in the literature we read throughout this course, and it should begin to inform the way you understand the "American Renaissance" as a literary movement. Also, consider the voice and tone that Emerson used in this piece. What does it reveal about his access to education? What does it tell you about his audience?
As you read this speech from 1851, think about the kind of experiences Truth describes in relationship to those Emerson recounted several years earlier. Is she articulating a culture that cares about the kind of self she creates? Does she have the luxury to engage in self-making? What do her voice and tone reveal about her access to education and her audience?