Keep in mind the historical set of Transcendentalism

Political turmoil

Social Reform

Industrialization

Immigration

A literary movement

An intellectual movement

A philosophical movement

Intuition is a higher faculty than understanding.

The fundamental truths of being and the universe lie beyond the senses and can only be understood through intuition.

Nature is a manifestation of God and the human spirit. The meaning of existence can be found through exploring nature.

There is a spiritual relationship between humanity and nature.

All forms of being –God, nature, man– are spiritually united under a shared universal soul—the Over-Soul.

•Romantic: it is part of the period •Focused on individualism

•on democracy •on the poor and oppressed

•Optimistic•Mystical•Philosophical•Intuitive

“Nature” (1836)

“The American Scholar” (1837)

“Self Reliance” (1841)

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Walden” 1854

by Henry David Thoreau

“Civil Disobedience” 1849

Walden Pond

Thoreau’s Cabin

Emerson’s House