1. Transcendentalism Historical movement was limited in time from the mid 1830s to the late 1840s. Historical movement was limited to eastern Massachusetts. Its ripples continue to spread through American culture. Romanticism: 1790 – 1850s

2. Major Belief To determine the ultimate reality of God, the universe, the self, and other important matters, one must transcend – or go beyond – the ‘everyday’ Man God Nature Remember the from Romanticism??

3. Other Major Beliefs Humans are divine in their own right The importance of living close to nature There is dignity in manual labor

4. Some of Transcendentalism’s major proponents are Ralph Waldo Emerson Who wrote “Nature”

5. Emerson’s Disciples Walt Whitman

6. Whitman’s Writings The Poetry Collection Leaves of Grass

7. Emerson’s Disciples Henry David Thoreau

8. Henry David Thoreau’s writings include “Walden”

9. Henry David Thoreau’s writings include “Resistance To Civil Government”

10. Civil Disobedience Which inspired Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi

11. Civil Disobedience And also inspired Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

12. Emerson’s disciples Nathaniel Hawthorne

13. Hawthorne’s Writings The Scarlet Letter The House of Seven Gables

14. Summary Transcendentalist Movement was short, but continues to influence even today. (MLK, Gandhi) Major Beliefs To know God, one must transcend – or go beyond – the ‘everyday’ Humans are divine in their own right The importance of living close to nature There is dignity in manual labor