Ralph Waldo Emerson

An item at American Writers Museum

In 1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered "The American Scholar," a speech calling for a new, specifically American way of thinking. He developed a philosophy, termed Transcendentalism, based on the bounty of nature. "In the woods, we return to reason and faith," he wrote in Nature (1836). "Standing on the bare ground... all mean egotism vanishes."

Emerson's Transcendentalism also emphasized independence and self-reliance. This belief in "the infinitude" of the individual and the importance of thinking for oneself greatly influenced many other writers, most notably Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman.

AMERICAN VOICES

An exhibit at American Writers Museum

American writing is distinctive, diverse, and comes in many forms from across the nation. The 100 authors featured here represent the evolution of American writing. Learn more about each writer on the timeline by turning the panels below their portraits. Explore centuries of writing by pulling, turning, and touching the interactive elements on the counter.

This is not meant to be a list of the greatest or most influential writers. Instead, we present authors and works as part of the American story as it grows and changes. Taken together, this rich literary heritage reflects America in all of its complexity: its energy, hope, conflict, disillusionment, and creativity.

American Writers Museum