【正确答案】正确答案：American transcendentalism was an important movement in philosophy and literature that flourished during the early to middle years of the 19th century(about 1836 ~ 1860). It spoke for cultural rejuvenation and against the materialism of American society. It placed emphasis on spirit, regarding it as the most important thing in the Universe. It also stressed the importance of the individual, seeing nature as symbolic of the spirit of God. The representative writer is Henry Thoreau with his Walden.