Episode notes
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 - Seeking isolation and the origins of Walden.
26:48 - When and how did Thoreau become as well-known as he is now, when he wasn’t so successful during his life?
31:21 - Thoreau’s influence in present day.
35:12 - Thoreau plays it cool when he’s sent to jail for not paying his taxes, but gets talked into writing about civil disobedience.