Which of the following stressed the importance of self-reliance, self-discipline, and non-conformity?

Cooper, Smith, Anthony and Thoreau could all fit the self-reliance and self-discipline standards. Non-conformity, however, is not something anyone stresses. It is something that others say of people they don't understand or of people who retain their values despite persecution. As for Poe, he was unusual even for a poet, and possibly suffered from mental illness. I don't see much connection between him and the others. Nothing in his writings bespeaks independence or a concern for personal or societal improvement. He was a loner with a curious perspective. The others explored phliosophical and social aspects of life that pointed towards more awareness of human worth and ways of enhancing that.