Emerson's Essay Defines What It Means To Be American By Emerson

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What central idea in Emerson's essay defines what it means to be "American"?

In Emerson’s essay, he defines being American as someone who seeks knowledge through free thinking and personal experience. Throughout the writing, Emerson talks about what it means to be a scholar and credits books, nature and actions for intellectual growth. This links to being American because in America we have the freedom to learn without being held back by any government telling us what to believe. Emerson mentions in his writing how European views clouded American thinking for the longest time when he says “we have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe.” Emerson wants scholars to not just learn about information, but he wants them to go out and
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