The movement whose leading figure was Emerson, centred on the ‘Transcendental Club’ formed in Boston in 1836. It was much influenced by German idealism and Romanticism, and tended towards pantheism, mysticism, and a general uplifting optimism about the progress of the spirit. Self-reliance and simple, communal living were associated with the doctrine that the soul is in itself a microcosm, reflecting the entire world. The Dial was the quarterly journal of the club. Other members of the movement included Thoreau, W. E. Channing (1817–1901), and Bronson Alcott (1799–1888).

http://www.transcendentalists.com/transcendentalism.htm A list of internet resources on New England transcendentalism, including bibliographies