Theodore Parker (1810-1860) was a powerful preacher who rejected
the authority of the Bible and of Jesus, a brilliant scholar who
became a popular agitator for the abolition of slavery and for
women's rights, and a political theorist who defined democracy as
"government of all the people, by all the people, for all the
people--words that inspired Abraham Lincoln. Parker had more
influence than anyone except Ralph Waldo Emerson in shaping
Transcendentalism in America.
In
American Heretic, Dean Grodzins offers a compelling
account of the remarkable first phase of Parker's career, when this
complex man--charismatic yet awkward, brave yet insecure--rose from
poverty and obscurity to fame and notoriety as a Transcendentalist
prophet. Grodzins reveals hitherto hidden facets of Parker's life,
including his love for a woman who was not his wife, and presents
fresh perspectives on Transcendentalism. Grodzins explores
Transcendentalism's religious roots, shows the profound religious
and political issues at stake in the "Transcendentalist
controversy," and offers new insights into Parker's
Transcendentalist colleagues, including Emerson, Margaret Fuller,
and Bronson Alcott. He traces, too, the intellectual origins of
Parker's epochal definition of democracy as government of, by, and
for the people.
The manuscript of this book was awarded the Allan Nevins Prize by
the Society of American Historians.