Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism is a conglomeration of similar, but diverse ideas about
literature, religion, culture and philosophy. It has its roots in the
Transcendental Club established in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on September 8,
1836, by several prominent Americans including George Putnam, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, and Henry Hedge. The club was a protest to the general state of
culture and society at the time, and in particular, the state of
intellectualism at Cambridge and Harvard.

Transcendentalism itself is difficult to define concisely, due to the
diverse expressions of those involved in the movement. However, the main
tenet of transcendentalists is the desire to go beyond (transcend) the
prevailing literature and philosophies of the masses in order to improve
society. One of the reasons that transcendentalism spans so many disciplines
is due to this strength of this desire amongst those involved.

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a novel, The Blithedale Romance, satirizing the
movement, and based on his experiences at Brook farm.

The term Transcendentalism was derived from the philosopher Immanuel Kant,
who called "all knowledge transcendental which is concerned not with objects
but with our mode of knowing objects." Ralph Waldo Emerson formulated and
expressed the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his 1836 essay Nature. His
stance was "We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands;
we will speak our own minds...A nation of men will for the first time exist,
because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also
inspires all men."

Other prominent Transcendentalists included Henry David Thoreau, Margaret
Fuller, and Theodore Parker.