''A Yankee in Canada, with Anti-Slavery and Reform Papers'' is an anthology of works by Henry David Thoreau, edited by his sister

Sophia Thoreau Sophia Elizabeth Thoreau (1819–1876) was an American editor. As the sister of Henry David Thoreau and his close collaborator, she was responsible for the posthumous publication of many of his well-known works. Sophia Thoreau was born in Chel ...

and his friends

William Ellery Channing William Ellery Channing (April 7, 1780 – October 2, 1842) was the foremost Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century and, along with Andrews Norton (1786–1853), one of Unitarianism's leading theologians. Chann ...

and

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

. It was published in 1866, after Thoreau’s death, by

Ticknor and Fields Ticknor and Fields was an American publishing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as a bookstore in 1832, the business would publish many 19th century American authors including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, ...

, the Boston firm that had published ''

Walden ''Walden'' (; first published in 1854 as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is a book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part ...

''.

“A Yankee in Canada”

In the first essay, ''“A Yankee in Canada,”'' Thoreau writes about his journey to the region of Montreal and Quebec City in the Fall of 1850. The essay comprises five chapters, three of which were previously published in 1853 in '' Putnam’s Magazine'' under the title “An Excursion to Canada.” (Thoreau withheld the remaining two chapters following an editorial dispute with

George William Curtis George William Curtis (February 24, 1824 – August 31, 1892) was an American writer and public speaker born in Providence, Rhode Island. An early Republican, he spoke in favor of African-American equality and civil rights both before and after ...

, his editor at the magazine.)

The other essays in the anthology

* ''"

Slavery in Massachusetts ''Slavery in Massachusetts'' is an 1854 essay by Henry David Thoreau based on a speech he gave at an anti-slavery rally at Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorpor ...

"'': An address given in Framingham, MA, on July 4, 1852, which Thoreau composed from material from his journals, and later published the abolitionist newspaper '' The Liberator'' in July 1854. * ''"Prayers"'': An essay by Emerson, not Thoreau, first published in ''

The Dial ''The Dial'' was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. From the 1880s to 1919 it was revived as a political review and ...

'' in 1842, and containing a 14-line prayer in verse form written by Thoreau. In a note to ''The complete works of Ralph Waldo Emerson'' (Houghton Mifflin, 1904), Edward Emerson wrote "It is thought by a friend of the Thoreau family that the prayers preceding and following enry David Thoreau's poemwere written by his loved brother John, who had died a few months before the publication of this paper." * ''" Civil Disobedience"'': Presented as a lecture at the Concord Lyceum in 1848 and first published in 1849 under the title "Resistance to Civil Government,” in ''Æsthetic Papers'', edited by

Elizabeth Peabody Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (May 16, 1804January 3, 1894) was an American educator who opened the first English-language kindergarten in the United States. Long before most educators, Peabody embraced the premise that children's play has intrinsic de ...

. ''A Yankee in Canada, with Anti-Slavery and Reform Papers'' was the first publication in which this essay appeared under the title "Civil Disobedience." * ''" A Plea for Captain John Brown"'': Presented as an address at the First Parish Meetinghouse in Concord, MA, on October 30, 1859, and published in 1860 in ''Echoes of Harper's Ferry'', edited by James Redpath * ''"

Paradise (to be) Regained "Paradise (to be) Regained" is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau and published in 1843 in the '' United States Magazine and Democratic Review''. It takes the form of a review of John Adolphus Etzler's book ''The Paradise within the Reach ...

"'': Thoreau’s review of

John Adolphus Etzler John Adolphus Etzler (1791–1846?) was a German engineer and inventor who immigrated to the United States in 1831 with a vision of creating a technological utopia. He was traveling with a group from Prussia, who included younger engineers John A ...

’s utopian treatise, ''The Paradise Within the Reach of All Men''. Thoreau’s review was first published in ''

The United States Magazine and Democratic Review ''The United States Magazine and Democratic Review'' was a periodical published from 1837 to 1859 by John L. O'Sullivan. Its motto, "The best government is that which governs least", was famously paraphrased by Henry David Thoreau in "Resistance ...

'' in 1843. * ''" Herald of Freedom"'': A review of the New Hampshire-based abolitionist periodical ''Herald of Freedom''. Thoreau’s article was first published in ''

'' in 1844, and he revised it for republication in 1846 as a memorial to its editor, Nathaniel Peabody Rogers. In a 1949 paper in ''The New England Quarterly'', Wendell P. Glick wrote “Thoreau apparently felt that the ''Herald of Freedom'' exemplified the proper attitude of the transcendentalist toward the corrupt institutions about him.” * ''"

Thomas Carlyle and his Works "Thomas Carlyle and His Works" is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau that praises the writings of Thomas Carlyle. The essay demonstrates a few themes that show up elsewhere in Thoreau's writings. First of these is Thoreau's eagerness to fi ...

"'': Thoreau biographer Walter Harding calls this “Thoreau’s one extended piece of literary criticism.” He worked on the

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

essay in 1845 while living at Walden Pond, and published it in 1847 in ''

Graham's Magazine ''Graham's Magazine'' was a nineteenth-century periodical based in Philadelphia established by George Rex Graham and published from 1840 to 1858. It was alternatively referred to as ''Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine'' (1841–1842, and Ju ...

''. * ''" Life without Principle"'': In the mid-1850s, Thoreau gave several Lyceum readings of this text under the title "What Shall It Profit." He later edited it for publication, but died before it made its first appearance in print in ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', with its present title, in 1863. * ''"

Wendell Phillips before the Concord Lyceum ''Wendell Phillips Before the Concord Lyceum'' is an essay style letter-to-the-editor written by Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading tran ...

"'': Written as an anonymous letter to the editor of ''The Liberator'' and published there in March, 1845, this essay supports the arguments of abolitionist spokesman

Wendell Phillips Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a Black attorney, Phillips was seen by many Blacks as "the one whi ...

, and defends his right to address the Concord Lyceum. Phillips was the source of much controversy in Concord, where two curators of the Lyceum, Rev. Barzillai Frost and John Shepard Keyes, resigned in protest when he was invited to speak. * ''"

The Last Days of John Brown "The Last Days of John Brown" is an essay by Henry David Thoreau, written in 1860, that praised the executed abolitionist militia leader John Brown. See also * "A Plea for Captain John Brown "A Plea for Captain John Brown" is an essay by ...

"'': An essay first published in July, 1860, in '' The Liberator''. As he did in "A Plea for Captain John Brown," Thoreau examined the moral dilemma of those who at first “were ready to say . . . that rownought to be hung," but at last were convinced that “ l whose moral sense had been aroused . . . sided with him.”

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yankee in Canada 1866 books Essay collections Works by Henry David Thoreau