Ralph Waldo Emerson's Transcendentalist Movement

Ralph Waldo Emerson is arguably one of the most influential American writers of his time. If it were not for his inspirational essays, many writers, including Henry David Thoreau, could of went completely different routes in their careers. Emerson is also responsible for the Transcendentalists movement, where Thoreau was also a major part of. As two major parts of Transcendentalism, the two obviously shared very similar views on the ways things should work. They believed in nonconformity, were anti monarchical, democratic supporters, and had a belief that the individual mattered more than a group. The two believed that people themselves were divine, and they should not have to live committed or live unlike how they want. Their beliefs were