Concord Historian Richard Smith discusses the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau, from his childhood as the son of a pencil maker and political activist, to his guidance under Ralph Waldo Emerson and the legacy he left that remains relevant today.

3:22 - What was Concord like in Thoreau’s time? How did Concord become a literary hub?

6:42 - Life for Thoreau growing up in Concord and his family’s pencil-making company, and Henry David’s path to Harvard.

10:54 - Thoreau meets Ralph Waldo Emerson, a springboard to his career as an author and lecturer.

14:30 - Lectures are a mainstream form of entertainment in the mid 1800s. Thoreau follows Emerson into lecturing as a way to make money. And he was terrible at it.

19:22 - Influence of Thoreau’s family on his work and posthumous publications and success.

21:12 - S ...