Transcendentalism was a movement that sought to explore the relationship between humans and nature through emotions rather than through reason. It got its name because its goal was to transcend, or go beyond, human reason . TranscendentalistsTranscendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in the eastern United States. It arose as a reaction, to protest against the general state of intellectualism and spirituality at the time. The doctrine of the Unitarian church as taught at Harvard Divinity School was of particular interest believed in a close link between humans and nature.