In this original and fascinating book, Peter S. Field argues that Ralph Waldo Emerson is America's first democratic intellectual. Field contends that Emerson was a democrat in two senses: his writings are imbued with an optimistic, confident ethos, and more importantly, he acted the part of the democrat by bringing culture to all Americans. In Ralph Waldo Emerson, Field connects Emerson and his remarkable creativity to the key political issue of the day: the nature of democracy and the role of intellectuals within a democratic society.

Peter S. Field teaches history at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is the author of The Crisis of the Standing Order: Clerical Intellectuals and Cultural Authority in Massachusetts, 1780-1833 and coauthor of The Promise and Paradox of American Freedom. He has previously taught at Columbia University and Vanderbilt University, and in 1998-99 he was a fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University.

Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 From Emerson to Emerson Chapter 3 "Born to be Educated" Chapter 4 The Problem of Vocation Chapter 5 Unitarianism and Its Discontents Chapter 6 "The Transformation of Genius into Practical Power" Chapter 7 Abolitionism and the Strange Career of Emerson and Race Chapter 8 Assessing Emerson as Democratic Intellectual Chapter 9 Bibliography