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1) The 1840’s- 1870’s were tumultuous years for Americans. The period included the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, reconstruction, and the taming of the Wild West. The period saw the addition of eleven states and completion of Manifest Destiny with the conquest of the last of what is now the continental United States. Furthermore, the period was one that was filled with a number of massive improvements in transportation and communication. When the period began people traveled the Oregon Trail and when it came to a close regular transcontinental rail travel was common. It saw the widespread introduction of the telegraph as well as the completion of the first transatlantic communication line and even the first telephone usage. A person who lived through during this period would have been confronted with a wild variety of emotions because of the rapid change. A person who lived through the period might also have felt some parts of it to be dark and depressing.

2) One interesting aspect of Emerson’s piece that would later have deeper philosophical meaning is when he says, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Emerson is saying that intelligent people don’t have to hold the same viewpoint or idea from day today. In other words Emerson is telling us to not get overly set in our ways. This is an important philosophical idea because it reminds us to approach issues from multiple prospective and to not be stubborn about changing our mind. Another issue that has deeper philosophical meaning is when Emerson says “He has got a fine Geneva Watch, but he fails of the skill to tell the hour by the sun.” Emerson is saying that even though man has made progress it has come at the cost of being able to rely on his ability to interact with nature. Furthermore, Emerson is alluding to the fact that Man’s technological skill is not true progress. True progress is acquiring the ability to think critically and become a more mature race.

3) Charles Sanders Pierce, was one of the early visionaries of the pragmatic movement. As an early pragmatist, Pierce outlined a number of important aspects of the movement. First he noted that his number one concern was making sure people kept inquiring and making advances through the scientific method. This is important to pragmatism because it is very naturalistic. Another important aspect that Pierce outlined was the idea that Objectivity was limited by what a human can experience given the intellectual tools required to make an analysis. This is very pragmatic because it recognizes the realistic limitations placed upon humans