Civil Disobedience, 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 Thoreau’s continuing effort to describe the context for citizen rebellion, he beseeches how irrelevant public opinion is if it is not acted on. “How can a man be satisfied to entertain an opinion merely, and enjoy it? Is there any enjoyment in it, if his opinion is that he is aggrieved?” (Thoreau). This question develops a sense of urgency that unless an opinion is acted on, first, there will be a complete absence of realistic results, but second, it simply exacerbates the issue that citizen opinion is against. To an extent, opinions are worthless if there is no motivation behind them, and Thoreau makes this very clear within his essay to assist the exigence behind his straightforward tone.

To show his credibility, Thoreau, uses his personal experiences and asserting his personal beliefs in the most respectful yet confident ways. When he was pressed by the poll taxes, he wholeheartedly declined the payment. He was sent to jail, “I saw that, if there was a wall of stone between me and my townsmen, there was a still more difficult one to climb or break through before they could get to be as free as I was. I did not for a moment feel confined, and the walls seemed a great waste of stone and mortar. I felt as if I alone of all my

Thoreau believed that individual integrity had the ability to triumph the government. Thoreau went to jail because he refused to pay his poll taxes for the past six years. Also, he protested against the Mexican war, and slavery, which also contributed to him going to jail and his views on the government. During his short period in jail he clarified that he did not dread it, and portrayed it as “Traveling into a far country” (964).

In the essay of Civil of Disobedience, Thoreau goes into detail about his personal interaction with civil disobedience. Thoreau hasn’t paid a poll tax for six years. Poll taxes are a tax levied on every adult, without reference to income or resources. Thoreau was placed into jail for punishment for rebelling against the government. Thoreau says his experience in jail did not hurt his spirit: "I saw that, if there was a wall of stone between me and my townsmen, there was a still more difficult one to break through, before they could get to be as free as I was." Since the State couldn't reach his essential self, they decided to punish his body. This illustrated the State's ultimate weakness, and Thoreau says that he came to pity the State. The masses can't force him to do anything; he is subject only to those who obey a higher law. He says that he has to obey his own laws and try to flourish in this way.

After spending a night in jail, after nonpayment of Massachusetts poll tax, Thoreau wrote his essay “Civil Disobedience”. He states that governments are mostly “inexpedient” (1577), or not practical. At best, Thoreau pushed the idea that the government isn’t useful because it is not our own. He writes “What makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country so overrun is not our own, but ours is the invading army” (1580). Americans listen to the rules established by the government, but it is not necessary, because the government is just the majority of people with whom are living off a different countries rules. The reason the government is even there, is because it gives the citizens some type of stable structure to live by. Thoreau feels that the government is unjust and the citizens of America should not follow rules. He feels like a reform is in need; “It is not a man’s duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous, wrong” and “not to give it practically his support” (1582). Thoreau and Emerson both push for social reform of the individual. Emerson wants the individual to be reliant on themselves, and not fall into the conformity of the American society. Thoreau, also teaches the individual to think different then the governmental established rules. Both authors want the readers to trust themselves, before they trust the

Thoreau’s comment at the beginning of the essay, “that government is best which governs least,” is a fairly radical statement. Thoreau is showing that he thinks government is simply a nuisance, so less government would be less of a nuisance. I think that government is a necessary precaution to restrict chaos, however having only as much government as is needed is likely the best approach. In this sense, I agree with Thoreau’s comment, however today’s stereotypes would classify him as an

He refused to pay his taxes because he saw it as a way of denying his support of our nation’s government, in a time which the institution of slavery was still occurring. A government that did not support his fundamental beliefs of equality and stance of the Mexican war is one which he would not support finically or by any other means. Thoreau stated, “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison” (142). Although it may seem extremist to some, the basis of his argument is one in which I desire his bravery. His point being that if you are imprisoned for what you know in your heart is right then so be it, everyone who believes in individual rights should

Henry David Thoreau was an American philosopher known for his interest in politics; specifically raising awareness about the injustice committed by the American government. He’s the author of prominent works like Civil Disobedience and Slavery in Massachusetts, which set the setting for the United States at the time. Both of these works follow a common theme of perseverance through difficult times and the role of the self when choosing right from wrong. Thus, he was deeply engaged in the idea of individualism, suggesting that we are “men first and subject after”. His beliefs led him to refuse to pay taxes as an act of protest against the Mexican War; he was imprisoned for a night and this sparked in him the inspiration to write Civil

Thoreau never refused to pay the Highway tax, he supported to educate his fellow- countrymen and supporting schools. He refused allegiance to the state, to withdraw and stand aloof from it effectually. If others pay the tax which is demanded of me, from sympathy they have already done in their own case, or rather than the state

This essay also had an impact on my thoughts about what civil disobedience meant. As I mentioned at the beginning, I can see in Thoreau’s words and actions a connection with those actions taken by the United States as a nation to become independent from a government that was unjust to the needs of a majority. Thoreau stresses the importance of independence of thought in a moment when the nation was divided regarding the rights of individuals. Civil Disobedience is his voice, and although unique, reflects the ideas that were shared by other writers and philosophers who stood against unfair decisions, and had a strong influence in the abolition of slavery and women’s right to

Thoreau knows that the state can only harm your body, that they cannot harm your mind. The state “could not reach [him], they had resolved to punish my body,”(10) Thoreau uses a metaphor here, sharing that the state couldn't reach his intellect and his core, they could only hurt him outside in a hope to kill out that light inside of him. Thoreau showed that as long as you held onto your beliefs and your character that the government would never be able to take them from you. Thoreau shows that the power the government has over the people is deceptive, that the power the government hold is “a sort of wooden gun to the people,” as if to say that the people are simply misapprehending the government’s power. Thoreau preaches that the act of civil disobedience is sometimes a necessity, and he would rather go to prison than submit to the state's

"That government is best which governs least." Or is it? Should the American people be free to rebel against laws they consider unjust? Henry David Thoreau addresses these issues in his essay, Civil Disobedience. Thoreau wholeheartedly accepts the declaration that the government is best which governs least, and would like to see it acted upon. One day, he hopes, we will be able to carry it out to the point where men can have a government that does not govern at all. Government "never of itself furthered any enterprise". He claims that the character of the American people, rather than the government, has kept the country free, settled the west and educated the people. If the government had not interfered, the people would have

After reading “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau, I believe that this historic piece of literature can still have a substantial impact upon the current beliefs of the American people. The reason that this essay has such significance to America is because this essay addresses the proper way to go about civil disobedience in addition to providing education about the nature of civil disobedience. I believe the most significant message that this essay could teach Americans is expressed in this quote, “A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority.” This quote expresses the need to not just believe in a cause but to actively support it. This is in contrast to a wide spread phenomenon called false activism that is prominent in society. We all know someone who is, and for the most part all of us are guilty of seeing a cause online, claiming to support it, and then not doing a single thing to progress the cause. For example, most everyone you talk to would claim to strongly support more environmentally friendly methods of gathering energy yet the majority of us have not done anything to progress the cause of green energy.