Although they were not academic philosophers, the St. Louis philosophers were in conversation with the Eastern transcendental thinkers, such as those of the Concord School of Philosophy, which had been organized by William Harris (1835–1909) and transcendentalist Amos Bronson Alcott (1799–1888). The Concord School held conferences during the summer from 1879 to 1887, and when Alcott first visited Harris in St. Louis, he was abused by Henry C. Brokmeyer (1826–1906) in what the Hegelian observers called “the first bout between East and West.” The result was celebrated as a victory for the West. Another famed Eastern philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), also visited the St. Louis Philosophical Society.