Ralph Waldo Emerson was a man that lived for ideas and the process in which ideas are created. (Yannella, 1) He was a complicated, energetic, and emotionally intense man, who believed that the mind should be used actively with energy and passion. (Yannella, 1) Emerson was a transcendentalist who hated the thought of the mind being wasted. (Yannella, 1) In this paper I will inform you about the background and history of Emerson's life, his achievements, and the impressions he left behind during his life time.The background and history of Emerson's life are quite extensive. Ralph Waldo Emerson was born to Ruth and William Emerson on May 25, 1803 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Yannella,1) Ralph Waldo was the fourth child of Ruth and William and the third son in his family. (Yannella, 1) No one would have ever expected Emerson to become such a great influence in the world. Emerson's early childhood is not elaborated on much, but the pressure for Emerson to become a mister was great. Seven of Waldo's ancestors were ministers, and his father, William Emerson, was a minister of the First Church of Boston. (Yannella, 1) Emerson's father was a man who apposed interests in the arts, music, and literature. (Yannella, 1) Emerson's father, William, was a Unitarian who was bitter about the financial poverty of his family, and often pushed the belief of Unitarianism on his children and demanded they keep the family tradition of a ministry in the family.(Yannella, 1) Emerson and his family suffered the many mood swings of William until the year of 1811, when William started to show the signs of having consumption. (Yannella2) Late in the year 1811, around the time Waldo was eight, William Emerson died, leaving behind a wife and eight children.(Yannella, 2) The burden of William's death left Ruth to struggle with poverty and the stress of raising her large family. (Richardson 224) Although Ruth was a plain woman, she was a woman of great intergrity and moral up rightness. (Richardson 224)Although Ralph Waldo Emerson was an average child, he started school early at about the age of three. (Atkinson, 24) In 1812 Emerson started attending school at the Boston Latin School where he first attempted to write poetry. (Atkinson, 24) The war that had started in and threatened harbor town also started in 1812, and Ruth Emerson became afraid that the outcome the war could have a detrimental effect on her family. (Yannella, 2) Ruth Emerson moved her family to Concord in 1814, where her family and she stayed for a little over a year. (Yannella, 2) While Emerson lived with his grandmother and her second husband until Ruth and the family moved back to Boston, he worked diligently on mastering verses for poems. (Yannella, 2) Emerson later went to college at Harvard College in 1817. Attending Harvard College was a prestigious achievement in Emerson's life, Emerson's ancestors and his father attend Harvard College. During his four years of college Emerson studied and excelled...
