Transcendentalism Vs Romanticism

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During the nineteenth century, two literary movements occurred roughly around the same time in America: Transcendentalism and Romanticism. Both of these movements provoked characteristics that contributed to Americans wanting to find their “American Self.” The “American Self” was the common character and values of the American people which evolved depending on philosophy, religious belief, and economical aspiration. Literature and art were key aspects in the development of the nineteenth century. A lot of literature at this time felt that knowledge is something that people were born with and focused on the belief of the goodness of all people. Some writers, such as, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, expressed these