As a philosophical essay, without a narrative frame, Emerson does not locate his arguments in any physical settings. However, so replete is his prose with allusion to classical antiquity and some of the major works of Western cultural production (from Homer's poetry to the gothic cathedral and beyond) that his essay is practically a whirlwind tour of certain canonical moments in history.
Emerson's angle therefore betrays his ivory tower education at Harvard and his alignment with the progressive educated elite in New England—his philosophy undoubtedly reflects the Eurocentricism of 19th century New England institutions, although Emerson's theories of unity also ensured that he looked far afield to demonstrate the shared nature of humanity. In "History" specifically, Emerson does a decent job referencing—and drawing upon—a whole range of beliefs, practices, and cultures, including those of the indigenous populations in the Americas, Ancient Egypt, and Southern and Eastern Asia.
"History" is also a shining example of Emerson's transcendentalism, and in terms of its intellectual setting the essay is therefore comfortably situated within a strain of American philosophy that burst onto the scene in the middle of the 19th century: together with fellow transcendentalist thinkers and writers like Henry David Thoreau and Louisa May Alcott, Emerson espouses the intrinsic goodness and interrelation of nature and humanity.
