Among Emerson's most well-known works are Essays, First and Second Series (1841, 1844). The First Series includes Emerson's famous essay, "Self-Reliance," in which the writer instructs his listener to examine his relationship with Nature and God, and to trust his own judgment above all others.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts in May of 1803. He is now remembered as one of the most important transcendental writers. The Transcendental Club, of which he was a founding member held meetings in Concord, Massachusetts. It was founded in the mid-1830s. The essay, “Nature,” his best-known work, was published in September of 1835 and a year later he delivered his address, “The American Scholar.” In 1841, he published the essay “Self-Reliance” which has since become one of his most popular. In the late 1840s, Emerson toured around the British Isles and France where he continued his popular series of lectures