Final answer:
Transcendentalists indeed trusted that most Americans could think and decide for themselves, adhering to the philosophy of individualism and self-reliance, as evidenced by the works of Emerson and Thoreau.
Step-by-step explanation:
Transcendentalists believed that most Americans during the 1840s could be trusted to think and make decisions for themselves, so the answer to the question is A. True. This belief was rooted in their core philosophy that prized the inherent goodness of individuals and nature. They held that society and its institutions often corrupted the purity of the individual, while individualism and self-reliance were seen as ways to achieve personal and societal perfection. Leaders of this intellectual community like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau became prominent voices promoting self-reliance and individual thinking.
Emerson's "The American Scholar" and Thoreau's "Walden" are quintessential works that reflect these beliefs, emphasizing living deliberately and thinking independently.