Nelson Mandela once said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to merely live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Transcendentalism is a philosophical belief that God, nature, and humans are all intertwined. Nelson Mandela used transcendentalist ideas to completely change South Africa, and was greatly influenced by Thoreau and Emerson’s philosophies.
Mandela believed that as human beings, we should unite rather than treating each other unequally. The people of South Africa lived in a society filled with apartheid. Apartheid was a political and social system that was put into place from 1948-1994. The abolition of apartheid is arguably Mandela’s greatest legacy. Without the philosophies of Emerson or Thoreau influencing Mandela, this accomplishment may not have been possible. Some of the transcendentalist ideas Mandela used to transform society in South Africa were non-conformity and civil disobedience. Both of these ideas were expressed in essays such as, Self-Reliance
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Non-conformity is the refusal to accept societal standards or laws. Nelson Mandela was able to leave his legacy by not conforming to his government’s system of apartheid. Instead of accepting the segregation of whites and blacks in South Africa, Mandela accepted that he could make a change in how the government and society treated him and fellow black South Africans. He was able to reach his accomplishments through peaceful approaches. “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure.” (Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson) Many times when a person does not conform, society will turn against them rather than uniting to make a change. Even though society was against him, he still used the ideas of Emerson to influence others and change. Mandela took the ideas and words of Emerson and changed them into actions and later was able to completely change life in South