"The American Scholar" is an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson, written in 1837 and published in his collection "Essays: First Series." In the essay, Emerson put forth the foundation of transcendentalism, a belief system that espouses a non-traditional appreciation of nature. Emerson argues that the scholar should avoid imitating the past and instead focus on being original and creative and should draw from nature, science and "the divine mind" to be an original thinker.