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Henry David Thoreau and Transcendentalism

Season 1 Episode 1 | 5m 09s

After graduating from Harvard Divinity School, Henry David Thoreau is introduced to an electrifying new social movement: transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the first youth movement in American history, and it boils down to one simple, but powerful idea: that there is a spark of divinity within everyone, including enslaved people. This idea calls the entirety of American society into question.

Episodes presented in 4K UHD on supported devices. Major funding for HENRY DAVID THOREAU was provided by The Better Angels Society and its members: The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment and Mark A. Tracy. Major funding was also provided by Jeff Skoll, the Mansueto Foundation, Tyson Foods, Inc., and The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. Additional funding was provided by the Tyson Family Foundation Inc, The Neil and Anna Rasmussen Foundation, Roxanne Quimby Foundation Inc, Jim and Mona Mylen through The HeartSpace Fund, and Elizabeth Kenny.
Extras
Celebrate the life and career of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver.
Preview: 250 Years of Americana
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A Vermont couple finds new ways to better protect their land from drought and floods.
An Iowa farm thrives as one of the state’s few Black-owned farms.
A Georgia farm keeps the produce coming year-round by planting and harvesting in different locations
See how college students are turning soybeans into new products like baby wipes.
A California farmer shares easy-to-grow mushrooms with giftable box kits.
A Minnesota farm family plants a new kind of wheat that restores the soil and saves water.
A Montana rancher honors his ancestors, and Mother Earth, by restoring native grasses to his land.
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