Title: What Is Transcendentalism? Understanding the Movement
Headings: 
SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips
What Is Transcendentalism? Understanding the Movement
What Is Transcendentalism?
Major Transcendentalist Values
Individualism
Idealism
Divinity of Nature
History of the Transcendentalist Movement
Origins
Height
Decline
Key Figures in the Transcendentalist Movement
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
Margaret Fuller
Amos Bronson Alcott
Frederic Henry Hedge
George Ripley
Criticisms of Transcendentalism
Spirituality Over Organized Religion
Over-Reliance on Independence
Abstract Values
Unrealistic Utopian Ideals
Major Transcendentalist Works
“ Self-Reliance ” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
“ The Summer Rain ” by Henry David Thoreau
“ What Is Beauty? ” by Lydia Maria Child
Summary: Transcendentalism Definition
What's Next?
Christine Sarikas
About the Author
Ask a Question Below

Content: Individualism
Perhaps the most important transcendentalist value was the importance of the individual. They saw the individual as pure, and they believed that society and its institutions corrupted this purity. Transcendentalists highly valued the concept of thinking for oneself and believed people were best when they were independent and could think for themselves. Only then could individuals come together and form ideal communities. Idealism
The focus on idealism comes from Romanticism, a slightly earlier movement. Instead of valuing logic and learned knowledge as many educated people at the time did, transcendentalists placed great importance on imagination, intuition and creativity. They saw the values of the Age of Reason as controlling and confining, and they wanted to bring back a more “ideal” and enjoyable way of living. Divinity of Nature
Transcendentalists didn’t believe in organized religion, but they were very spiritual. Instead of believing in the divinity of religious figures, they saw nature as sacred and divine. They believed it was crucial for humans to have a close relationship with nature, the same way religious leaders preach about the importance of having a close relationship with God.