In “Emerson and Economics” by Alexander Kern, Kern draws attention to the economic aspects present in Ralph Waldo Emerson's texts. Specifically, Kern discusses the lack of attention Emerson's economic notions receive. Emerson is not associated with being an economist writer, but Kern draws attention to how he "touched the subject so frequently that understanding his economic ideas is a prerequisite for the evaluation of his entire thought on any relative scale or absolute" (Kern 678 ). Kern's theory that readers must extract the economic aspects from Emerson to understand his texts is extremely useful because it brings home the difficult problem of seeing Emerson as an economist, yet he sees Emerson as a moral philosopher because of the views of the author towards the company. . Alexander Kern's call to regard Emerson as an economist has yet to be answered. Furthermore, it is essential to evaluate Emerson as an economist in order to analyze his texts differently. Consequently, using economics to evaluate Emerson's “Self Reliance” in a new way will demonstrate that it is intended as a call for social reform. More specifically, by considering the economic panic of 1837 and its effects on Emerson's outlook on society, we get a new way of understanding “self-sufficiency.” First, it is important to understand the economic panic of 1837 and then understand how it affected Emerson. Crucially, US industries depended on British financing to finance cotton, the main export of the time. The crisis emerged when British investment produced a “land boom” (Roberts 363) in the West. When British investors withdrew their financing, economic activity collapsed and American banks failed to keep the economy alive. The...... middle of paper......, my findings bring concern to anyone who wants to read "Self Reliance" with a new perspective. Works Cited Kern, Alexander. “Emerson and Economics” New England Quarterly. January 1, 1940. Request. Network. 25 April 2014Maggiore, William and Bryan Sinche. “Give Emerson the boot.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. January 17, 2010. Prosecutor's Office. Network. April 27, 2014 Doors, Joel and Saundra Morris. Ralph Waldo Emerson's Cambridge Companion. Cambridge University Press. 24-27. Google Scholar. Network. 26 April 2014Roberts, Alasdair. "America's First Great Depression: Economic Crisis and Political Disorder After the Panic of 1837." Political Science Quarterly. June 1, 2013. 363-364. Proquest. Network. April 25, 2014 Schweikart, Larry. "Brothers in Chains: Thoughts of Ralph Waldo Emerson and George Fitzhugh on Economic and Political Freedom." Nd Proquest. Proquest. Network. April 27. 2014