1. Transcendentalism

2. Romanticism
Romanticism: A movement in art and literature in the 18th and 19th centuries
Emphasized imagination, emotion, freedom, and intuition rather than reason, logic, and science
Transcendentalism was part of this movement

3. Basic Characteristics
Transcend (v.): To rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed
There is a higher knowledge/truth that exists beyond our senses and the rational world
Humans are inherently good, and they possess the intuition to reach these truths
Belief in living closely and harmoniously with nature

4. Basic Characteristics
“Simplify, simplify”—move away from materialism, tradition, and government
Society is corrupting
Emphasis on self-reliance; the light comes from within
Stresses non-conformity, individuality

5. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Founded most of the transcendentalist ideas in Nature (1836)
Best known for Self-Reliance (1841)—Stresses self-worth
“What lies before us and what lies behind us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

6. Henry David Thoreau Built a cabin on Walden Pond
Lived there for 2 years, writing and studying nature
Best known for Walden and Civil Disobedience
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.”

7. Thoreau’s cabin on Walden Pond