These are the journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) in PDF Acrobat Reader format. They derive from the 1904-14 edition of the Journals edited by Emerson's son Edward and form 5000 pages of material. Volume 8 (1849-1855) reflects Emerson's return from his second trip to England and France, refreshed and ready to resume an active lecturing career. The major event in this period was the passage in Congress of the Fugitive Slave Law, which Emerson declared he would not obey, and indeed he did not. He denounced Daniel Webster during this period and set himself against Southern slavery in letters, lectures and essays.

From the Publisher:

        The Digital Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson is an archive provided by The Ralph Waldo Emerson Institute and www.rwe.org for the use and convenience of interested students of the life and works of America’s Founding Thinker, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The source of these digital Journals is the ten-volume Edward Emerson edition, originally published in Boston from 1904 through 1914, and comprising over 5,000 pages of material.

        The main advantages of the Digital Journal Archive over the printed volumes are the search and read aloud features available in Acrobat Reader. Users can find names, dates, places, and, most important, words and ideas in a relative instant. Emerson used his journals as his “savings bank,” as he called them, to record and then use thoughts and insights for later use in essays, lectures and sermons. Therefore, the journals hide the seed of an entire essay, but they also reveal more private thoughts and personal observations which never found their way into the Complete Works. In all, the Journals are a fascinating and valuable record of a lifetime of inspiration and insight.

         Richard G Geldard, PhD,

         General Editor, Digital Archive