Part 1 of Essay
"We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds...A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men" As Ralph Waldo Emerson concluded his lecture at Harvard in 1837, he issued this challenge to all ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... later grew from these beliefs, such as anti-slavery and women’s rights movements. So, what set off these changes in our society? Many trace the roots of these events back to the chief writers of the period. Transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau preached beliefs in self-reliance, non-conformity, and in the Over-Soul. Ralph Waldo Emerson greatly accepted the concept of self-reliance, which is the dependence on one's own judgments, powers, or resources, rather than those of ot ....