Footpaths of Rebellion: Concord’s Walking Revolutionaries
by Charles Updike
As we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution as walkers, it is remarkable to think about the philosophical parallels that exist between the ideals of our founding fathers in the 18th Century and the ideals of those in the 19th Century who advanced our notions about our individuality and how it may be expressed through walking. The crossroads for these ideas is Concord, Massachusetts.
Walk with us in Boston, Lexington, Concord and Walden
The rolling paths and wooded landscapes of Concord have witnessed the footsteps of remarkable men with transformational ideas. It was here that four revolutionary thinkers in particular forged a uniquely American philosophy of freedom, strident individuality, and reverence for nature. Samuel Adams, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Hancock and Henry David Thoreau, two Transcendentalist philosophers and two Revolutionary War patriots, found in Concord's forests and fields both a context and a framework for their rebellious ideals. Their shared connection to this land allows us to reflect on their similar visions of American liberty, personal independence, and the transformative power of walking, both in nature and to battle.
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.
from Concord Hymn
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, which began when British troops marched to arrest Adams and Hancock, "ignited a fire in the hearts of patriots across the colonies and galvanized support for the cause of independence." It was Thoreau who later extended our concept of independence, asserting that "in Wildness is the preservation of the World." Wildness, whether political or natural, is an essential part of the exercise of freedom. Samuel Adams, a man who was long itching for a fight, set "brushfires of freedom" in the minds of colonists, urging them to resist authority and defend their rights, a sort of wildfire of civil disobedience that would later fuel the notions of Thoreau and Emerson.
The educational philosophy that connected these men centered on direct experience rather than established authority. John Hancock emphasized the importance of "good education of youth" as essential to preserving the republic. This value found its most radical expression in Thoreau's learning experience at Walden, where he urged others to live simply and learn directly from the natural world. Hancock, upon signing the Constitution, expressed his joy at attaining independence: "Thank God, my country is saved and by the smile of Heaven I am a free and independant man." This ecstatic declaration of personal liberty finds its philosophical extension in Thoreau's essay, Walking, where he establishes himself as "an ambassador for nature" and suggests that connection to the natural world is essential for human freedom. For both generations, freedom meant rejecting conventional constraints and marching on to new ground through lived experience.
Emerson and Thoreau celebrated the spiritual value of walking. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the father of Transcendentalism, proclaimed, "I think it is the best of humanity that goes out to walk. In happy hours, I think all affairs may be wisely postponed for walking. I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order." Thoreau claimed that sauntering was an art, that the word saunter itself derived from Sainte Terre, or Holy Land, to describe those on pilgrimage, and that each of us has the power to walk to our own holy place.
We often walk to escape the structure of our routine-driven lives. Thoreau says that within the constructs of his daily life "A man may walk abroad and no more see the sky than if he walked under a shed." In the time of Revolution, many were unable to escape the concept of their circumstances and imagine something more righteous. Just as Adams warned that "the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words," Thoreau cautioned against the invisible tyranny of habit. Emerson observed that "Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe," a harmony that cannot exist under tyranny of any sort.
Freedom from a tyranny of the mind often can only be found in nonconformity. Adams believed that "a small group of individuals who cherish freedom and exert diligent effort can bring about more change than a larger group of people who either lack concern or are filled with fear." This nonconformist spirit may have found its clearest expression in Thoreau's determination at Walden Pond "to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life." Thoreau's retreat to Walden, living for more than two years away from society, emerged from the same impulse that drove the patriots to resist British authority, a desire for an uncorrupted space in which to develop one's own expression of freedom.
In their own times, Adams, Emerson, Hancock and Thoreau walked the same physical and ideological terrain, each contributing to our modern understanding of what it means to be free, knowing that freedom, while afforded to us by God or Nature, must also be achieved and maintained through effort. As we walk today in natural settings and follow in the footsteps of these remarkable thinkers, we too can participate in their ongoing revolution. Emerson stated two centuries ago that "Few people know how to take a walk," suggesting that the art of walking, just like the exercise of freedom, requires cultivation and practice.
It must be even more true today. The revolutionary spirit that once animated Concord continues to inspire those of us who seek, through walking in nature and society, to escape conventional constraints and discover our own path to personal liberty. In the footsteps of these Concord revolutionaries, I seek to find not just their historical legacy, but a seminal source of inspiration to continue walking toward greater freedom, deeper connection with nature, and a more fulfilling exercise of individuality. I eternally invite you to join me on this journey.