Theodore Parker’s Views, Essay Example

Parker’s Views on Society

Theodore Parker is recognized in the modern American society as an outstanding intellectual, religious, and social reformer, the leader of the American Unitarian church that moved from being the purely Biblical faith, and acquired a wider role in the public life of believers. The views of Parker on society have thus formed under the influence of his faith – Unitarianism. However, one should note that initially, Parker belonged to the tolerant Calvinism faith, and until being 27 years of age, Parker practiced the Calvinist views.[1]

The death of the major part of Parker’s family brought about the reconsideration of the role of God in his life, and Theodore Parker dismissed Calvinism as the unfair and cruel faith, resorting to Unitarianism. One more reason for which Parker eagerly considered transferring to Unitarianism was that he strove to uniting the elite of his time; in the aristocratic, intelligent circles, Unitarianism had just acquired exceptional popularity, which also instigated Parker to become the adapt thereof.[2] The literary and critical career of Parker revealed much inconsistency between the views of Unitarians, and the results of Parker’s research. Hence, the contradiction related to the attitude to miracles in the Old and New Testament that were regarded by Parker at first as reality, and then – as “myths”, neither legends nor true.[3] Parker’s views were similar to those of Transcendentalists, since Parker saw the omnipresence of God in every person, and disputed the divinity of God and Christ.[4] “He and Ralph Waldo Emerson were good friends, sharing similar transcendental views in living simply, honestly, through self-reliance and Reason”.[5] Parker also defended the views on temperance of Pierpont, accusing his condemners for their attacks on a reformer. These views brought him notoriety in the religious circles, and caused much discontent among his colleagues who declared his faith not Christian, and repeatedly made him leave the Congregational Ministers’ society.

However, Parker’s views took the political and social turn in the early 1840s. “In the fall of 1843, Parker took a European sabbatical with Lydia. His first exposure to great inequalities of wealth and to political despotism led him to think increasingly about democracy, democratic society, and democratic culture”.[6] He soon formed the 28^th Congregational Society and preached to a large number of followers (around 2,000) in the Melodeon, and later in the Boston Music Hall. His society was not a Unitarian organization in the full sense of this word, since it was considered the free church, and its members were referred to as “Parkerites”; Parker dwelt much on political issues and events, gave statistics, and talked extensively about the formation of social “classes”. Grodzins also noted that Parker took an active interest in ethnology, and the “romantic” racial theory. Parker advocated the advantage of the Anglo-Saxon race over others, and dismissed the potential of “Africans” for progress. Nevertheless, these views did not prevent Parker from becoming a prominent abolitionist of his times.

Parker saw the USA as an “industrial democracy”, and favored the democratic rule in the country; however, he believed that the US society could not achieve the established objective because of being non-compliant with the social ideal. That ideal could be achieved by means of adhering to a comprehensive cultural, social, and political reform. Parker worked out a series of ways to alleviate the urban poverty, and advocated the rehabilitation and reformation system for criminals instead of punishment. Parker’s revolutionary views about women also marked the outstanding intellect and political standpoint of the minister; Parker endorsed women’s suffrage, and was against the oppression of women in the USA.[7]

Slavery was also one of the social evils Parker saw in the American society on the path to democracy. Parker condemned slavery, voiced his strong criticism against the Mexican war, and headed the Boston opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.[8] The present standpoint contradicted the official position of the Unitarian church, since the majority of ministers either avoided voicing their opinion on that subject, or supported the Fugitive Slave Act as a way to save the slavery in the South, and to control the slaves by depriving them of the opportunity to flee to free states escaping from the injustice and cruelty of their owners. It was even popular to state that catching fugitive slaves was sanctioned by the Bible. Such statements embarrassed Parker, and incited him to publish the Sermon of Conscience in 1850, in which he characterized the Act as a violation of the Christian ideals cherished by the church, and a threat to the very existence of free institutions and democracy in the USA.[9]

Parker did not support slaves only in theory; he also appeared to be the real-life supporter of fugitive slaves. Theodore Parker served as a Minister at Large for fugitive slaves in Boston, chaired the executive committee of the Vigilance Committee, provided fugitives with material aid and legal assistance, and helped them avoid capture.[10] Parker personally protected some fugitive slaves threatened with arrest, and arranged sending them to Canada. During the aggravation of the slavery issue, parker became more of a political activist than a minister; during the proto-civil war in Kansas, Parker assisted in collecting wars for the purchase of weapons for the free state militias, and became the member of the secret committee that supported the failed attempt of slave insurrection in Virginia by John Brown.[11] Parker voiced the opinion for the right of slaves to kill their masters in his work John Brown’s Expedition Reviewed.

Parker’s Views on Social Contract

Parker’s views on social contract were serious influenced by his belonging to the Unitarian church, and the political views on the society and the form of rule that should be dominant in the USA. Parker’s opinion about the legitimacy of the social contract in the USA was almost exclusively formed on the basis of Abraham Lincoln’s beliefs. Parker saw the US social contract and organization of the American society as follows:

“it was “of all the people, by all the people, for all the people”…Parker meant a government that was an organic expression of the whole people’s mind, conscience, and piety, that was controlled by no individual or class, and that acted on behalf of all, and not on behalf of an individual or class. Meanwhile, the American social order would be “industrial,” as opposed to “feudal,” when it valued people for their work and character, rather than their wealth and social position. An industrial democracy would promote the spiritual perfection of each individual and therefore would be the most religious possible form of society”.[12]

Thus, as one can see, Parker dismissed the right of the state to govern the people of the USA authoritatively, and claimed the right of the whole nation to contribute to the process of governing the state. The present views of Parker may be associated with the socialist views that developed in Europe approximately at the same period of time – the power of a single organ of rule declined, and the popularity was on the side of the communal, cooperative, and democratic rule of the state by the whole nation.

Parker’s opinion about the basics of social contract is highly consonant with the ideas about slavery he held during his lifetime. Since the law of the USA endorsed the right of slave owners to punish and kill their slaves, Parker could not ignore the acute injustice and suffering of slaves in the US territory. Parker repeatedly voiced his opinion against slavery, but after the adoption of the Fugitive Slave Act, the fight against slavery acquired the sharp, visible form in the USA. The present Act was the precursor of the Civil War, and Parker was a significant contributor to raising the awareness of Americans about the unacceptability of obeying the unjust, cruel laws in their country:

“Ten years later [after the adoption of Fugitive Slave Law], Abraham Lincoln became the President of the United States, and the Civil War began. By then, Theodore Parker had died. He did not live to see the abolition of slavery in the United States. Yet, he had helped to lay the groundwork by convincing many people that they must not blindly follow unjust laws. His words had the power to persuade many people to join the fight to end slavery”.[13]

The present statement underlines the position of Parker on social contract – even by means of delegating the power over the nation to a certain representative organ of power, the Americans should not voluntarily forgo their right to decide whether to involve in cruelty and injustice or not. Hence, the social contract was legitimate only in case the state did not coerce its people to commit awful, unacceptable crimes regarding slaves.

Parker’s Views on Education

Theodore Parker early understood the exceptional value of education, which formed his views on education overall. At the age of 16, Parker began his school teaching career, and passed all examinations to Harvard College three years later. However, Parker faced financial problems, and could not study in Harvard because of high tuition fees. Parker covered the reading curriculum of Harvard independently, and later enrolled to the academy in Watertown where he met his wife belonging to a rich Unitarian family.[14] With the help of the Cabots, Parker finally managed to enroll to Harvard and pay the tuition; in Harvard, Parker involved in extensive reading and further education. Before enrollment, he had learnt Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and German languages; he also became an expert in theology, church studies, and biblical studies.[15] Even upon graduation and assignment to the West Roxbury Unitarian School, Parker continued his self-education by reading and writing scholarly articles.

Parker’s views on education stemmed mostly from the religious teachings and religious education, since Parker himself was a minister of the Unitarian church. Hence, Parker was a strong critic of the views held on the Old Testament, the exclusive position of God and Christ, and criticized the evangelical revivalism.[16] Instead of propagating the degrading views on God and human nature, Parker developed a new vision of the society and the ways of its development. One of the most powerful works of Parker is The Transient and Permanent in Christianity. In it, Parker

“claimed that the teaching of churches and sects would eventually fade, while the teaching of Jesus, being pure religion and morality, would last forever. He eschewed traditional dogma as posturing, and encouraged individuals to acquaint themselves “first hand with the deity.” He believed that all human beings had an inherent spiritual faculty, and by reaching into and outside oneself, the path to the Divine and to Truth would be revealed.”[17]

Parker was against the long-standing tradition of an aristocratic class having exclusive access to the virtues of education and reading, and admitted the need for better, universal education. Parker also voiced the strong support for educating women, and emphasized the need for equality between men and women in the USA as the basic precondition for the democracy in the new country.[18]

Parker’s Views on American Character Identity

As a Unitarian minister, Theodore Parker had pronounced democratic views based on equality, justice, mercy, and wisdom. Parker propagated support and understanding, and voiced many humanist views regarding various deprived groups of the American society. Parker wanted equal rights and recognition for everyone in the USA, and claimed the need to provide all people with the equal voice, and equal choice of alternatives:

“Parker fiercely believed, in principle, that all people living in the United States should be full voting citizens and should be able to participate in the democratic process, regardless of race, class, religion, or country of origin. He writes to one friend, “I am glad the Catholics have the same rights as the Protestants. If they did not, I would contend for them as I now do for the Negroes”.[19]

As one can see from this paragraph, Parker wanted equality for all people disregarding their origin, skin color, and beliefs. The present opinion contradicts Parker’s viewpoints about the exclusivity and superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race, but it proves that Parker was a true humanist wishing a new, democratic future for the USA. The key obstacle to achieving the long-sought ideal of an American character identity was seen by Parker in the evil of slavery. As he repeatedly noted, slavery is a sin, and people who approve of slavery cannot be justified. Parker was an active defender of slaves, and condemned slavery in many of his writings and speeches:

“Theodore Parker was incensed. How could the United States have strayed so far from the Revolutionary ideals of its founders? His own grandfather, Captain John Parker, had fought in Lexington, Massachusetts, in one of the very first skirmishes of the Revolutionary War. In those days, Americans had not been afraid to stand up for liberty, though it meant breaking the unjust laws imposed on them by their government in Britain. Now, this very country, founded on a principle of liberty and justice for all, was enforcing laws designed specifically to deny liberty and justice”.[20]

It is also necessary not to forget that Theodore Parker was a Transcendentalist, which also largely formed his views on the American national character identity. As a Transcendentalist, and a Unitarian intellectual leader, Parker held a strong belief that self-culture and sense of moral seriousness could form a true American character, and that the neo-Platonic sense of piety, a strong inclination towards individualism, the emphasis on literature as an important aspect of the American culture, and the interest in the normal reform distinguished Americans from other nationalities.[21]

One more characteristic trait of the Transcendental viewpoint on the American personality was the pursuit of originality and individualism in artistic expression. One of the prominent representatives of Transcendentalism, Emerson, claimed that all people should achieve honest, beautiful, and original forms of expression, which was also supported by Parker who sought to distinguish his individual viewpoint from the position of the majority, and was never afraid that his views would clash with the officially and generally accepted position. As a Transcendentalist supporting intuitionism, Parker believed that laws should be disobeyed in vase the people’s intuition recognized them as unjust; these views lay the foundation of Parker’s fierce opposition to slavery, and the intense propaganda of social justice as the only true and valid basis of the new American national character.[22]

Parker, as many other thinkers of his time, condemned the public call for conformity in the American society, and propagated individualism and self-expression as the clue to the new American identity. Parker also advocated the multi-faceted spiritual development as an indispensible element of every person’s advancement, and criticized the American social arrangements precluding people from free access to information, and hindering their evolution as personalities.

References

Ann Woodlief. n.d. “Theodore Parker: 1810-1860”. American Transcendentalist Web. http://transcendentalism.tamu.edu/authors/parker/. (accessed September 27, 2012).

Dean Grodzins. n.d. “Theodore Parker”. Unitarian Universalist Historical Society (UUHS). http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/theodoreparker.html. (accessed September 27, 2012).

Lilli Nye. 2007. “Transcendentalist Echoes: Parker’s Prejudice”. Theodore Parker Church. http://www.tparkerchurch.org/sermons/20072008/Parker_s_Prejudice.htm. (accessed September 27, 2012).

Polly Peterson. 2011. “Theodore Parker and the Fugitive Slaves: Refusing to Follow an Unjust Law”. Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. http://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/toolbox/session8/sessionplan/stories/109685.shtml. (accessed September 27, 2012).

Shannon Riley. n.d. “Transcendental Ideas: Political and Social Reform”. American Transcendentalist Web. http://transcendentalism.tamu.edu/ideas/onparker2.html. (accessed September 27, 2012).

“Transcendentalism”. 2003. Dictionary of American History: Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/transcendentalism.aspx. (accessed September 27, 2012).

[1] Ann Woodlief. n.d. “Theodore Parker: 1810-1860”. American Transcendentalist Web. http://transcendentalism.tamu.edu/authors/parker/. (accessed September 27, 2012).

[2] Dean Grodzins. n.d. “Theodore Parker”. Unitarian Universalist Historical Society (UUHS). http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/theodoreparker.html. (accessed September 27, 2012).

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Shannon Riley. n.d. “Transcendental Ideas: Political and Social Reform”. American Transcendentalist Web. http://transcendentalism.tamu.edu/ideas/onparker2.html. (accessed September 27, 2012).

[6] Grodzins, “Theodore Parker”.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Polly Peterson. 2011. “Theodore Parker and the Fugitive Slaves: Refusing to Follow an Unjust Law”. Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. http://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/toolbox/session8/sessionplan/stories/109685.shtml. (accessed September 27, 2012).

[14] Grodzins, “Theodore Parker”.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Riley, “Transcendental Ideas: Political and Social Reform”.

[18] Grodzins, “Theodore Parker”.

[19] Lilli Nye. 2007. “Transcendentalist Echoes: Parker’s Prejudice”. Theodore Parker Church. http://www.tparkerchurch.org/sermons/20072008/Parker_s_Prejudice.htm. (accessed September 27, 2012).

[20] Peterson, “Theodore Parker and the Fugitive Slaves: Refusing to Follow an Unjust Law”.

[21] “Transcendentalism”. 2003. Dictionary of American History: Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/transcendentalism.aspx. (accessed September 27, 2012).

[22] Ibid.