Works

The American Scholar

Citation Formats

General Reference

Philosophy Atlas. "The American Scholar." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-philosophy.interactiveatlas.org/works/the-american-scholar.

APA Style

Philosophy Atlas. (n.d.). The American Scholar. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-philosophy.interactiveatlas.org/works/the-american-scholar

BibTeX

@misc{philosophyatlas-the-american-scholar,
  author = {Philosophy Atlas},
  title = {The American Scholar},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-philosophy.interactiveatlas.org/works/the-american-scholar},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Delivered as the Phi Beta Kappa Society address at Harvard on 31 August 1837, calling for an American intellectual life independent of Europe. Oliver Wendell Holmes later called it America's intellectual declaration of independence.

Facts

Publication Yearthe subject's own account

1837 1

Original Languagethe subject's own account

English 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Authored By

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Source Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar (1837)

In Branch

Metaphysics

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Sources

1. Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar (1837)

Opening

Quote, Opening

Mr. President and Gentlemen,

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and InformationIn Branch: MetaphysicsView the Source

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