Shannon Beiser Lit 331-w2012 Professor John Gosney 23 January 2012

America's Identity Crisis America could now be termed a 'teenager' and just like any teenager they are experiencing an identity crisis. The country has freed itself and is now struggling to figure out who they are and what their place will be in the world. This country was settled by people looking for freedom and that theme has been the core of the American dream. Keeping that dream at the forefront of our minds transcendentalists are challenging Americans to use the freedoms of choice and expression to create an identity that is solely their own and beyond that, an identity that sees truths and puts them into action. Non-conformity and the search for truth in actions was the point of Emerson's speech to the scholars at Harvard. He said that men must do more than be the parrot of other men's thinking (Baym 521), they must do more and put their thoughts into action so they may ripen into truth. (Baym 525) It is not just that we can learn from others but that we take what we learn and concoct thoughts all our own from that. The point was made that there has been enough writing done and thinking done by wealthy Europeans and it is time to expand 'thought'. By doing so, the American society created in the mind of transcendentalists of those original thoughts being put into action would be above that of other societies and would embrace the idea of freedom that has been the basis of American ideals since its first settlers arrived.