Analysis Of Resistance To Civil Government By Henry David Thoreau

From the start of man fighting for freedom or his beliefs, the question has consistently been whether a person can wage a battle using words rather than actions. The notion of civil disobedience would seem to be an inept weapon against political inequity; history, however, has persistently proven it to be the most dynamic weapon of the individual. By refusing to pay his taxes and subsequently being imprisoned, Henry David Thoreau demonstrated this very defiance. Thoreau’s Resistance to Civil Government conveys the effectiveness of the individual conscience, renounces hypocrisy, and cultivates a sense of urgency where inaction creates a moral conflict. This path of responsibility paved by Thoreau gave our leaders of today the means they

In Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, he is writing to the American people. He is trying to spark a desire for change, for people to oppose their government without actions. He uses this work to criticize the American institution of slavery as well as the Mexican-American War. Thoreau is attempting to convey the importance of listening to one’s conscience over the laws, believing that it is more important to do what they feel is right rather than listen to the laws given by the majority. Thoreau feels that people should protest against their government, but not using violent actions. He is trying to persuade the people to voice their opinions and break the chain of majority rule. Thoreau is writing during the time of the war between the United States and Mexico, which took place between 1846 and 1848. He writes to oppose the government’s actions and policies during this time period. He refused to pay a tax that would support the war and was imprisoned for a day. Thoreau uses ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade his audience to agree with his view of the American government and to voice their oppositions.

A key difference between the philosophies of Emerson and Thoreau as articulated in “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience” is their vision of how individuals should shape society and government. Emerson believes that one should only follow his own conscience and intellect not the opinions of the crowd. Emerson argues that it is not only possible to successfully defy the common practices and beliefs of society, but that “to be great is to be misunderstood”

According Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, he mentions that to require civil disobedience, the circumstances must be like America’s. Circumstances like practicing war, deriving power from the people, having unjust laws, and supporting slavery. Thoreau writes, “must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislation?” (Thoreau ). He mentions how no man should be subdued to any government or institution, especially if it portrays unjust. Therefore he also implies that if a law exhibits unjust, the population should not follow the law with the knowledge of the consequence. Similarly, Thoreau establishes, “when . . . a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law, I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize,” (Thoreau ). He explains how it expresses the duty of Americans to rebel and use civil disobedience, it is not just a right, but it drives Americans to be aware of and completely use for the advantage of society. Thoreau further explains the unlawful government by stating, “I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which the slave's government also,” (Thoreau ). He describes the circumstance of America as a prejudiced institution, which rightfully allows citizens to use their duty of civil disobedience. A government should require unjust laws, slavery, aggressive law, and strength over intelligence to cause civil disobedience. However, civil disobedience a citizen’s duty and they must maintain it.

Thoreau's Civil Disobedience talks about politics, government and the issues concerning these areas today. "Government is best which governs least." This motto means that the government should not have complete power over the people. The people's opinion is what matters the most. Individualism is stressed throughout his writing. To stand up for what you believe in and not bend backwards for the government is necessary. He speaks of Slavery and the war in Mexico and how is must be put to a stop. The people are responsible for this happening. Many people opposed these things yet did nothing to change it. Allowing yourself to be a part of injustice makes you a part of the negativity. Paying taxes to a corrupt government makes you

In Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, he argues that when civil laws conflict with an individual's morality, the individual should follows his conscience. Thoreau like many Transcendentalists felt a less involved government was best. Thoreau wrote, "That government is best which governs not at all." Obviously, Thoreau realized that he could afford to take this open opinion on government because of the American government. But he felt that government's authority should be limited to physical matters of the country, such as infrastructure and orderliness. He felt a government that become involved in moral matters such as sobriety and slavery was a government over-stepping its boundaries. Ultimately, Thoreau and other transcendentalists felt a utopian society would be the best.

Henry David Thoreau, born in 1817, is the author of Civil Disobedience, an essay the highlights the importance of individualism and maintaining autonomy within a society that strongly favor majority rule. In 2017, especially within the past election, this is of major significance. In his essay, Thoreau focusses on many ideas, some of the most prevalent being, standing up for what one believes is wrong, no matter the consequences, along with the idea that with the right leaders government can work.

In Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and in Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, both address the responsibility of the individual to stand up for their beliefs and to defy any idea that goes against their consciences or their moral standards. From this defiance, Thoreau states the need for civil disobedience. King later uses this term to respond to the white moderates and to express the need for direct action, as does Thoreau. The idea of civil disobedience expressed by Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr are evident in today’s nation through their methods , however, these beliefs can be spread further as the nation progresses.

He compares the government to a machine and says that if the machine “…requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine.” Standing against what he considers to be unjust acts of the government, slavery and war, he protests in a way that is according to his point of view. I see a correspondence between Thoreau’s call for independence of thought to the call that the colonies did for independence from a King that was unjust to them. Moreover, the title itself Civil Disobedience, is a straightforward appeal to behave this way. I am a true believer in democracy as the best system to grant a voice to most people, however, like Thoreau, I believe that one cannot support a government that acts against what is right, he says “ Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?” Thoreau notes that democracy may not be the final stage in the process, and at the end of the essay he emphasises that there will never be a "really free and enlightened State" until the state recognizes the pre-eminence of the

The title is an important aspect that should be considered and not misinterpreted. When this essay was first published it was under the title “Resistance to Civil Government”. The resistance in his title is later used as metaphor that compares the government to that of a machine. The machine is producing injustice therefore he says “If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go; perchance it will wear smooth — certainly the machine will wear out.” He furthers this metaphor by saying “Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine.” After the death of Thoreau his essay was retitled “Civil Disobedience”. For the purpose of this essay civil is meant as “relating to citizens

In his famous essay, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,’’ Martin Luther King, Jr. cites conscience as a guide to obeying just laws and defying unjust laws. In the same way, Henry David Thoreau wrote in his famous essay, “Civil Disobedience,” that people should do what their conscience tells them and not obey unjust laws. The positions of the two writers are very close; they use a common theme of conscience, and they use a similar rhetorical appeal of ethos.

Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience) is an essay written based on his disproval’s and arguments about mistreatment from the government. Within Henry David Thoreau essay, he points out his views on how he sees people getting treated for being different. Henry David Thoreau believed that people should fight for their rights like everyone other citizens has. Henry David Thoreau illustrates in his essay, “But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it” . Henry David Thoreau sees and knows that the government has no justice towards the people, those who get their rights see it as

Henry David Thoreau was an American writer and protester, who wrote the influential essay “Civil Disobedience”. In his essay, he advocates for citizens to protest against government actions that they deem unjust and to stand up for one’s rights, putting morals before law,

Thoreau believed that the government should not be ruled by the minority just because “they are physically the strongest,” instead, we should be ruled by conscience. Furthermore, Thoreau stated that “…a corporation has no conscience,” because the corporation only cared about money, without caring about the multitude. This is still happening even nowadays. For instance, the cigarette companies are still selling cigarettes to the multitude even though they know that there are some carcinogenic materials in cigarettes that smoking cigarettes can cause cancers. They only care about money, without caring about the people who buy their products. As a result, most of the corporations had no conscience. Besides, people should also be conscientious. We should use our brains to think before we act. For example, the soldiers of the army had no conscience because they act like machines without thinking what they were doing. “The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines.” In brief, Thoreau believed that we should be ruled by conscience instead of the inexpedient government which had no conscience. Besides, we should do something to stop the “machine.”