5 Things You Should Know About Transcendentalists

1.) Transcendentalism started in 1836 when Ralph Waldo Emerson, a former Unitarian pastor, published an essay entitled "Nature".
2.) It's core principle is that of individualism.

3.) They thought that religion and faith ultimately tainted one's individuality.
4.) They believed in the essential goodness of all mankind and nature.
5.) Transcendentalism slowly fell out of favor in the 1840s, and eventually disappeared entirely.

an interesting link to your blog which explores the past and legacy of slave songs in American music and society at large.

http://uccswc.org/Calendar%20and%20Events/swc-news/rr-negro-spirituals.html

Ichobar vs Ichobar

The Ichobar Crane from the book differs greatly from the Ichobar depicted in the movie adaptation. For one, the book version is much friendlier, and his appearance is described as tall, small headed with huge ears and eyes. However, Johnny Depp gives Ichobar a sort of Deppification, changing his personality from a dreamy scholar into a whacky detective with a sort of wild yet contained insanity present in almost every Johnny Depp character.
While these changes are the most apparent, there is one change to Ichobar that, while subtle, is much more significant than any aesthetic changes to the character: his religious views. The Ichobar Crane in the original Sleepy Hollow is an avid Christian, which drastically changes how he approaches the idea of an apparition murdering the townspeople in comparison to the Ichobar in the movie. The atheist, science embracing Ichobar of the movie has an almost catatonic reaction to seeing an actual headless horseman commit the murders. 

RE: New England Primer

The New England Primer very accurately portrays the most important Puritan beliefs in their own eyes. These beliefs were strongly fundamentalist, stressing piety, resistance to change, and hatred of atheism. This belief system is structured in such a way that it renders its victims quite stubborn to any alternative opinions. The closed minded piety and arrogant view of themselves made Puritanical society an unfit vehicle for any sort of human progress, be it academic, political, industrial, etc.
Despite its problematic nature, the ideas and beliefs contained within the New England Primer can be seen today in many parts of the USA. Many members of the House and the Senate remain staunchly creationist. In fact, possible Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry is one of these members of legislature who rejects the universally accepted model of evolution. The fact that someone holding this Puritanical view despite factual evidence could possibly be leading the country in 2012 shows how deeply ingrained this Puritanical belief system still is in American society.

Pamphlets

Regardless of what these pamphlets say, books are on their way out. The "joy of holding a story in your hands" has not proven reason enough to destroy the environment that trillions of animals call home. Paper is not nearly as effective in storing data as hard drives are, so it serves to reason that they would slowly be replaced until they inevitably fall completely out of production. While this is a very saddening thought to many who grew up reading books, this is just the way progress works. Such as the car replaces the horse, the computer will replace the book.

Responding to B Frankz

Bro you went in two opposite directions at once with this one. On one hand explaining how the white man is truly a blight upon the new world, and all Native Americans involved, but on the other hand advocating expansion of the US. Why would you do that? If you're going to annihilate a race of people in order to take their land and the natural resources therein, then you should be hard at work dehumanizing the Native Americans. Sorry, but to me, you sound inconsistent when you say "Wow these Indians are really nice guys, but we really should kill them all and take their land."