Ralph Waldo was a leader of Transcendentalism which was a literary and philosophical movement that began in the United States in 1836. Transcendentalists did not agree with the strict ritualism of established religious institutions. They supported individualism and self- examination. They believed that they could understand themselves better if they study nature and their surroundings. Transcendentalists also believed in an "Over-Soul" where all forms of being are united spiritually. 's lectures and writing were based on this philosoph ....