Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are considered two of the most influential and inspiring transcendentalist writers of their time. Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was a lecturer, essayist, and poet, was born on May 25, 1803, and is generally considered the father of American transcendentalism , "a philosophy that rejects the idea that knowledge can be fully derived from experience and observation; rather, truth resides in the spiritual world." Henry David Thoreau is his student, who was also a great essayist and critics.Both men extensively studied and embraced nature, and both men encouraged and practiced individualism and nonconformity. In...
"excessive individualism"; these complaints then spread throughout the broader culture. What is especially dangerous is that the decline of individualism is self-perpetuating; diminished self-reliance makes it possible for the power of the government to expand, which teaches future generations to rely upon the protective comfort of the government rather than themselves.

Consequently, Emerson and Thoreau were among the founders of transcendentalism in American literature. Both writers emphasized the importance of the soul and nature and they complemented their views and their views on individalism and self-reliance effected not only literature but also politics and society in the United States.