Ralph Waldo Emerson, with his 1836 book "Nature," laid the foundation for and gave rise to the transcendentalist movement. "Nature" was an essay that dealt with appreciating the natural world in an intuitive way. Ralph Waldo Emerson lived from 1803 to 1882, writing essays and poems and giving lectures. He was also a noted opponent of slavery. Ralph Waldo Emerson's works on individuality, spirituality and nature have had a deep influence on American thought.
Best known for his self-published poetry collection "Leaves of Grass," Walt Whitman was a poet and journalist who lived from 1819 to 1892. "Leaves of Grass" contained poems of a sensual, earthy nature and was inspired by an essay from Ralph Waldo Emerson, encouraging the creation of truly American poetry. Whitman published several editions of "Leaves of Grass" throughout his lifetime. Today Walt Whitman is often considered America's best poet. Regarding his personal life, Whitman was believed to be homosexual, which earned him admirers, including famed Irish playwright Oscar Wilde, as well as disparagers.
Best known for the book "Walden," Henry David Thoreau was a poet, author, naturalist and philosopher who lived from 1817 to 1862. Thoreau was also an abolitionist and an individualist. "Walden" was about Thoreau's own two-year experiment with living simply and close to nature in a cabin in the woods near Walden Pond. The book has been influential in the modern-day environmental movement. Besides "Walden," he is also well known for his essay "Civil Disobedience," which later influenced people such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
Emily Dickinson was a poet who lived from 1830 to 1886; however, most of her poetry was written privately and only fully discovered and printed after her death. Posthumously, she has earned acclaim as a poet and a transcendentalist. For an American woman of the 19th century, Dickinson was highly educated; she completed secondary education, as well as one year of college. Emily Dickinson was a private person who stayed close to home and never married. She was known for her penchant for white clothes.