Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: American Transcendentalism
A site from Washington State University detailing the emergence of transcendentalism, and quotes from major authors of the time.
Digital History
Digital History: American Transcendentalism
A detailed look at the philosophy behind American Transcendalism, and a discussion of many of those who practiced it.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Louisa May Alcott: Transcendentalism
Explore the impact of transcendentalism on the life of Louisa May Alcott and American society in this video [4:00] from the American Masters film Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women.' Emphasizing self-reliance, civil...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature: Transcendentalism: Emily Dickinson
This lesson from a unit on American Transcendentalism focuses on Emily Dickinson and her poetry. It includes links to a Discovery Education video: "Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886: An Overview of Her Work" (registration required) and four of...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature: Transcendentalism: Walt Whitman
This lesson from a unit on American Transcendentalism focuses on Walt Whitman and his invention of the American free verse. It includes links to his poems "Song of Myself" and "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." It provides...
Texas A&M University
American Transcendentalism Web: Henry David Thoreau
Resource provides a biographical look at the Transcendentalist writer, Henry David Thoreau, as well as links to further biographical information, major Thoreau sites, Thoreau texts, and even a criticism of his work "Walden," in audio...
Texas A&M University
American Transcendentalism Web: Walden Study Text
This Virginia Commonwealth University site contains study notes that explain the text to each chapter of Thoreau's "Walden."
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University: Transcendentalism: Ideas and Thought
This resource provides information about American Transcendentalism, and biographies of people who followed this philosophy.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature: Transcendentalism: Walden
This lesson from a unit on American Transcendentalism focuses on Henry David Thoreau's Walden, a book about his living a frugal life in a secluded life in a cabin on Walden Pond. Links are provided to a Discovery Education video about...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: The Second Great Awakening and Transcendentalism
This article focuses on the Second Great Awakening and Transcendentalism in America. It looks at the relationship between religion and politics.
PBS
Pbs: American Novel: Literary Timeline: Literary Movements: Transcendentalism
Background on the literary, religious, and philosophical movement known as Transcendentalism, including central beliefs and writers important to the movement.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Examining Transcendentalism
Interactive lesson plan that allows students to view the works and ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau through the popular culture of their time. Students use multiple genres to grasp the concepts of Transcendentalism,...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: Transcendentalism
This is an introduction to the Transcendentalism period (1836-1860) in American Literature. It focuses on the beliefs and characteristics of transcendentalism and its leading authors: Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson and...
![America Dept. Of State: Outline of American Literature [Pdf] eBook](http://content.lessonplanet.com/resources/thumbnails/410155/large/bwluav9tywdpy2symdiwmduymc0yotc0ny0xzhf5cgiwlmpwzw.jpg?1589985629 "America Dept. Of State: Outline of American Literature [Pdf] eBook")
Other
America Dept. Of State: Outline of American Literature [Pdf]
This online book presents an overview of American literature chronologically. Eras and movements are explained and biographies of significant authors are provided. This is a good way to understand the background and influences of...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson
This features a brief biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson, an optimistic Transcendentalist author who's personal life was filled with tragedy. See "Ralph Waldo Emerson Activities" for related materials.
Virginia Commonwealth University
American Transcendentalism Web: Ralph Waldo Emerson
This resource includes a short biography of Emerson and links to related sites.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: History of American Literature
This article features a brief history of American literature.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Romanticism: "The American Scholar" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The American Scholar" is a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his groundbreaking work "Nature" in which he...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Transcendentalism, an American Philosophy
A good look at the first major American philosophy, transcendentalism. Read about the ideas that transcendentalists believed, and find out the members of the Transcendental Club. Many American authors of the time espoused the ideals of...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is the text of the essay "Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the foundation of transcendentalism, a belief system that espouses a non-traditional appreciation of nature. Transcendentalism suggests that the divine, or God, suffuses...
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Transcendentalism: The Dial
Cambridge History of English and American Literature entry for the Transcendental Club's publication, "The Dial." Provides a history of the publication and its contributing writers.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Philosophy and Literature: Two Philosophies
Explains what the 'Scottish philosophy' was and how well it fitted with American sensibilities in the 1800s. Over time it evolved into the American philosophy of Pragmatism. The other philosophy that took hold in some groups of society...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: Walden: Conclusion
This is the text of Chapter 18 of Walden by transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. By immersing himself in nature, Thoreau hoped to gain a more objective understanding of society through personal introspection. Simple living and...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Literature: Introduction to Romantic Literature
This introduction to Romantic literature focuses on the learning outcomes of the study of various pieces of American Romantic literature. These include describe the major historical and cultural developments of the Romantic period,...