The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 06, No. 36, October, 1860: A Magazine Of Literature, Art, And Politics

In Short

This volume serves as a time capsule for the American mind in October 1860. It blends diverse literary offerings—ranging from a travelogue through the haunts of Robert Burns to rigorous defenses of Darwinian theory and sharp political critiques of slavery—into a single monthly issue. By balancing creative prose with serious inquiry, the magazine offers a comprehensive view of the era’s cultural tensions. It remains essential reading for those who wish to understand the intellectual foundations and the mounting moral anxieties that characterized the United States just months before the secession crisis.

The Story

The magazine unfolds as a multifaceted dialogue between the past and a rapidly evolving future. We begin with a traveler’s descent into the "chronic filth" of Dumfries, Scotland, where the residence of Robert Burns serves as a melancholic anchor for reflection on history and literary memory. This journey through tradition is quickly disrupted by the urgency of contemporary science and politics. A long, analytical centerpiece wrestles with Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, not as a mere biological curiosity, but as a philosophical challenge to the concept of divine design. The argument is nuanced, positioning natural selection as a secondary cause that does not necessarily negate the existence of a higher spirit.

The narrative shifts from the theoretical to the intensely practical as it moves toward the "irrepressible conflict" of slavery. The contributors argue with cold, economic logic that the slave system is a political blunder that concentrates power in too few hands, inevitably stifling the advancement of the Commonwealth. This political critique is mirrored in the domestic sphere by the sketches of fictional characters like Di and Nan, who navigate the transitions of youth, the pains of unrequited or unstable love, and the pursuit of "angelic" character in the home.

The volume’s arc concludes with a broader survey of the world and the self. We read of the legendary, free-spoken Pasquin of Rome, whose biting wit against papal corruption mirrors the magazine’s own critical stance. We are introduced to the life of the late Theodore Parker, a man celebrated as a "centre of a thousand hearts" for his tireless commitment to the oppressed. We encounter the rugged, frontier-toughened figure of Pete Walker, whose mastery over wild, knife-wielding men contrasts with the quiet, noble "soul of a baron" found in the printer Joseph Gales. Finally, the magazine provides a catalog of contemporary literature, listing new volumes on history, foreign languages, and even "wild sports," effectively tethering the reader back to the marketplace of ideas. It is a portrait of a society trying to reconcile the weight of old-world traditions with the terrifying, exhilarating speed of a new age, eventually ending in a list of books that suggests the reader has much work left to do.

How It Unfolds

The pilgrimage to the past The issue opens with a vivid, sensory-heavy travel narrative documenting a visit to the humble, squalid home of Robert Burns. The author contrasts the "vile lane" and the reeking atmosphere of the poet’s former residence with the pristine, ornamental garden surrounding his later monument.

The theological challenge The focus shifts to a sophisticated, multi-part defense of Darwin’s theory of evolution against its detractors. The writers dismantle the claim that the derivative hypothesis is inherently atheistic, arguing instead that design and natural law are not mutually exclusive.

The political reckoning A sharp, analytical pivot addresses the economic and social degradation inherent in the American slave system. The text argues that the South’s reliance on enslaved labor destroys the possibility of a functional, democratic Commonwealth.

The domestic and personal portraits The magazine highlights the internal lives of various individuals, from the headstrong Di’s intellectual "distempers" to the quiet, devoted service of Nan. These vignettes examine the development of character and the search for meaning in both the private home and the public square.

The final inventory The volume concludes by surveying the intellectual landscape of the day through a list of new publications. This catalog provides a window into what the nineteenth-century reader was consuming, from political textbooks to practical guides for learning languages without a master.

The People

The figures populating these pages are defined by their capacity for growth or their stubborn resistance to it. Robert Burns is presented as a relic of a vanished, rural past, his memory preserved in glass cases and Grecian monuments despite the "chronic filth" of his living conditions. Theodore Parker emerges as a modern saint, a man who abandoned the "scholar’s reproach of timidity" to serve the poor and hunted, ultimately winning a love that outlives his written work. Joseph Gales stands as the ideal of the "stanch old order," a man of physical and moral strength whose career in printing helped shape the political discourse of his state. Elsie, by contrast, is a creature of "malign and restless instincts," a figure of "scowling beauty" who represents the untamable, dangerous elements of nature and the psyche. Nan and John represent the potential for resolution, moving from the weary toil of duty toward a union based on mutual reverence and the "little shoe" of domestic comfort. Finally, the Pope Sixtus V looms as the embodiment of absolute, "Oriental barbarity," a ruler whose vanity and cruelty are perpetually challenged by the biting, marble-tongued wit of the street-jester Pasquin.

In Its Own Voice

"It is a vile lane, paved with small, hard stones from side to side, and bordered by cottages or mean houses of white-washed stone, joining one to another along the whole length of the street."

The narrator offers a bleak, unromanticized description of the street where Robert Burns once lived.

"The proposition, that things and events in Nature were not designed to be so, if logically carried out, is doubtless tantamount to atheism."

A reviewer articulates the primary objection to Darwin’s hypothesis that the magazine then proceeds to systematically address.

"Will Cinderella try the little shoe, and--if it fits--go with the Prince?"

John uses the imagery of a fairy tale to propose marriage to Nan, grounding their future in a domestic ideal.

What It's Really About

The central inquiry of this collection is the reconciliation of belief with evidence. Whether the subject is the physical origins of the species, the moral consequences of a political system like slavery, or the worth of a human life, the recurring question is how to remain a principled agent in a world that is losing its traditional moorings. The magazine argues that material progress and scientific inquiry do not necessarily require the abandonment of spirit or design; rather, they demand a more robust, active form of faith. It posits that the true measure of a society is not its wealth, but its willingness to confront the "irrepressible" truths that threaten its established order.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy intellectual history will find this volume deeply rewarding, as it captures the raw, unfiltered discourse of a nation before the narrative was settled by the trauma of war. There is a palpable sense of urgency here; the prose feels alive, marked by a sophisticated vocabulary and an argumentative fire that is often missing from contemporary media. Readers will appreciate the honesty of the contributors, who do not shy away from the contradictions of their time—such as the romanticization of the past alongside the cold, clinical analysis of evolution.

However, the reader must be prepared for the dense, sometimes discursive style of the mid-nineteenth century. The arguments are long, the syntax is complex, and the attitudes toward class and social standing reflect the period’s specific biases. You will encounter unabashedly high-minded moralizing alongside blunt, "roughcast" observations about human nature. It is not an easy read, but it is an evocative one. It stays with you because it mirrors our own modern anxiety: the feeling that we are living in a transformative moment, surrounded by theories and conflicts that will define the shape of the world for generations to come. To read it is to stand in a room full of nineteenth-century thinkers and hear them debate the future of their civilization.