Which Transcendentalist author welcomed Walt Whitman with the phrase 'I greet you at the beginning of a great career'?

• A. Henry David Thoreau
• B. Ralph Waldo Emerson
• C. Margaret Fuller
• D. Louisa May Alcott

Answer: (B)

Ralph Waldo Emerson is the Transcendentalist most closely linked to welcoming Whitman with that famous line. Emerson, a leading figure in American Transcendentalism, played mentor and promoter to Whitman as Leaves of Grass began to circulate. When Whitman sent his work into the circle, Emerson offered strong praise and encouragement, reportedly greeting him with “I greet you at the beginning of a great career.” That moment signals Emerson’s belief in Whitman’s bold, expansive voice and the renewal of American poetry that Whitman represented. The other figures in the list were part of the same circle, but none are recorded as giving that particular endorsement.