Essay about Thoreau: Right or Wrong?

Civil Disobedience is defined as refusal to obey civil laws or decrees, which usually takes the form of direct action (Grolier’s Encyclopedia Online 2). Thoreau wrote that people practicing civil disobedience, break a law because they consider the law unjust. People want to call attention to its injustice. Thoreau voiced civil disobedience as, “An expression of the individual’s liberty to create change” (Thoreau 530). Years later Martin Luther King Jr. took the same idea of direct action to protest the injustices brought upon black Americans in the United States. One major example was the Birmingham bus boycott. Blacks where treated unjust and often had to give up their seats to whites, and had to listen to racial slurs made by the bus driver. King like Thoreau, did not take a violent approach, he often used sit-ins and rallies to unite the black community (Encarta

    Thoreau seems to be a very educated political thinker. He can be very stubborn but humble when it comes to his beliefs, “I have contemplated the imprisonment of the offender, rather than the seizure of his goods -- though both will serve the same purpose -- because they who assert the purest right, and consequently are most dangerous to a corrupt state… ”(Thoreau 24. 218). Thoreau has lived in the woods for over six years, without paying state taxes. When the police officer asked him to pay, the non-violently compiled and spent a day in jail. Thoreau did not want to fund the American Mexican war through taxes and believed that people shouldn't be forced to do what they don't think is right. He is also a very optimistic person and believes that the people themselves should be good people, live good lives and therefore we wouldn't need as many laws, “when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.” (1. 210). Thoreau believes that the government is doing the best when doing the least, “I heartily accept the motto, -- “That government is best which governs least” …” (1. 210). Although Thoreau might have an unpopular opinion, he sticks with his beliefs throughout this essay. As he presents his opinion, he does it in the most classy yet confident arguments. He had the thought of the people in mind while writing, showing his good intentions of improving our government.

Henry David Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience, which is about him trying to persuade citizens that their obligation is to contravene and correct the unfair laws of the government. Thoreau begins Civil Disobedience with the view point “That government is best which governs least”

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.

The belief of civil disobedience that is evident in present day America was created by Henry Thoreau. In the history of mankind, Thoreau is most notably known for his creation of the ideology that encourages improvement of the government, but only for specific reasons. This belief created by Thoreau became known as civil disobedience through the publication of his essay titled “Civil Disobedience.” In the essay, Thoreau continuously advised for the improvement of a government and also the person in that society, which he also believed the government reflected the will of an individual. Thoreau believed that civil disobedience against the government was necessary, but only for specific reasons. In the reading, Thoreau stated many reasons why one should not conform to the government, such as “But when the friction comes to have its machine, and oppression and robbery are organized, I say, let us not have such a machine any longer” (Thoreau 3). Thoreau believed that one should change the government and not conform if that particular state has many injustices occurring against the masses in society. The metaphor in the quote establishes friction to resemble the government at work, such as laws passed and enforced on an individual. If the friction were to become unnecessary, harm the society, and benefit the government, Thoreau

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

Civil disobedience is defined as the “refusal to obey civil laws in an effort to induce change in government policy or legislation, characterized by nonviolent means”; theories on this topic have been debated for centuries. (American Heritage Dictionary 3rd Edition pg161) Henry David Thoreau was well known for his refusal to participate in the political systems or activities of his era, not only by refusing to pay his poll taxes for six consecutive years, but also by announcing that he did not wish to be regarded as a member of any incorporated society. In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau stresses the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws. A person should not be obligated to devote his or her life to eliminating evils from the world, but is only obligated not to participate in such evils themselves. He argues that the government rarely proves itself useful and this derives from the power from the majority because they are the strongest group, not because they hold the most legitimate views. Justice is the quality of being just, impartial or fair. Thoreau doubted the effectiveness of reform within the government, and argued that voting and petitioning for change served useless. He felt that justice had different standards for each different group. Which raises the question, is justice fair for everyone? When a government is unjust, people should

1. Thoreau believed it was disgraceful for him to be associated with the American government because in his time he was battaling against slavery and the Mexican-American war. He was disgusted that we were delusioned about a Manifest Destiny and weren't being rational in regards to our territory.

“Civil Disobedience” is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau in 1848. Thoreau protested many issues at the time such as slavery, the Mexican war, and taxes; he stood for peaceful protests or civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is the act of publicly, peacefully, and conscientiously breaching any corrupt and or unequal law(s) in order to bring about a change in said law or policy. Almost one hundred years later, on April 16th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr wrote the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail;” a response to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight white religious leaders of the South. King, in the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” conveys to his readers that the laws set against the African American are unjust and

Thoreau is known for being the man who first put civil disobedience into words, the first man to put it into words, he was the one who set all the requirements for when civil disobedience should be used and for how it should be used. The requirements that were set to use civil disobedience were that if the laws were to be unjust, if it went against the safety of the people and if it went against the against the people's morals. The first way that Thoreau used civil disobedience himself would be of when he had not “...paid no-poll taxes for six years…” and was “put into a jail once into this account” which in the modern world many people still do not pay taxes to go against the government but this results them to end up in jail (Thoreau 948). Another time that Thoreau used civil disobedience would be for the possible abolishment of slaves saying “ay, if one HONEST man… ceasing to hold slaves… it would be the abolition of slavery in America” in modern times slavery is not fully abolished but it is not practiced as much as before from many people who are now against slavery (Thoreau 947). Both

Civil disobedience is when a person peacefully refuses to abide by an unjust law, accepts the consequence, and it grabs the attention of society. Civil disobedience is a method in which a person or group of persons show that a law or act is unjust and highlight that there needs to be a change in policy. Henry David Thoreau set the precedent when he wrote Civil Disobedience. In this work, he defines what civil disobedience is and when it should be used. Thoreau’s method of gaining justice through civil disobedience is used throughout history by Mahatma Gandhi, African Americans during the Civil Rights campaigns, and can be used effectively today for groups that are fighting for domestic and international equality as it was effectively used in the past.

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an American philosopher, author, poet, abolitionist, and naturalist. He was famous for his essay, “Civil Disobedience”, and his book, Walden. He believed in individual conscience and nonviolent acts of political resistance to protest unfair laws. Moreover, he valued the importance of observing nature, being individual, and living in a simple life by his own values. His writings later influenced the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. In “Civil Disobedience” and Walden, he advocated individual nonviolent resistance to the unjust state and reflected his simple living in the nature.

While Thoreau recognizes the people’s affinity toward order, he abhors the fact that states misconstrue the original grounds for government: protection of individual rights. It is, however, ironic that the noisy, complicated government of Thoreau's time had only a fraction of the bureaucracy of the government we have today. This illuminates the extent to which modern society, let alone current day society, contrasts the natural locus of human interaction. - 69 words