Final answer:
The statement that the Civil War caused the unrest leading to transcendentalism is false; transcendentalism began before the Civil War and was part of the Romanticism movement, emphasizing individualism and perfectibility.
Step-by-step explanation:
The assertion that the Civil War caused the unrest that brought about the transcendentalism movement is false. Though both the Civil War and transcendentalism were significant in the 19th century, transcendentalism as a cultural movement began earlier and was not a direct result of the Civil War. The transcendentalism movement was part of a larger global movement in Romanticism, which emphasized the elevation of the human spirit and had a profound effect on the development of distinctly American literature and culture, advocating for individualism and the perfectibility of humanity.
Transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau encouraged a direct knowledge of the self and were critical of the institutions of the time, but the Civil War itself mainly highlighted political, economic, and social divisions within the country, leading to changes during Reconstruction.