Stonewall Riots Transcendentalism

The lasting impact of the Stonewall Riots originates from ideals in the Transcendentalist era. Transcendentalism was an American movement in both philosophy and literature, lasting from 1836 to 1860. Beginning as a movement for reform in the Unitarian Church, it branched off from William Ellery Channing's’ views of an “indwelling God and the significance of intuitive thought” (American Transcendentalism by Donna M. Campbell). Transcendentalism was a belief system that showed the significance of every individual, and valued self reliance along with openness. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a key author during this movement, and is considered the father of Transcendentalism. His protege Henry David Thoreau is best known for his works “Civil Disobedience” and Walden. “Civil Disobedience” revolutionized the overall American belief system. Thoreau professed every individual’s right to defy unjust laws, and made key points that people did not have to blindly follow the government or laws. However, he also made it clear that every individual had to be prepared for whatever consequences were to follow these actions (“Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau). In the quote “Yet …show more content…
LGBT individuals were constantly being harassed, assaulted, and, on numerous occasions, even murdered. Hateful societal views of the LGBT community were only being reinforced by the laws of the 1960s. Homosexuality was considered a mental disorder, and the sodomy laws made it possible for individuals to end up spending a life sentence in prison (American Experience: TV’s Most-watched History Series”). As mentioned before, the New York City vice squads also played a major role to the end result of Stonewall. Individuals did not agree with these unjust laws, and Stonewall is the perfect example of the civil disobedience performed by these