Transcendentalism In Civil Disobedience

Thoreau refused to pay the poll ax because the money was being used to finance a war he was against. This war was over Texas, which was to enter the Union as a slave state. He wrote Civil Disobedience while in the Walden jail. Thoreau wrote how disappointed he was with the government by forcing him to pay a poll tax that supported a war and slavery. King would later go to jail acting on his beliefs. Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau used civil disobedience to change people’s ideas and beliefs to stop the injustice brought against them and their nation.

The Transcendentalism movement raised self-confidence; it made you believe in what you thought was right, and to not conform with the things around you. It is the spiritual unit of all forms of being, with God, Man, and Nature all sharing a universal soul. The movement developed in New England around 1836, Henry David Thoreau was a leading figure. He wrote “Civil Disobedience” in 1848, it embraces the need to emphasize one's conscience over the command of laws. From the government, the men, a man’s duty, the wrongs of majority, to the unjust system. He strictly states that a nonviolent rebellion is the best way to revolt. The Transcendentalists ideal in Civil Disobedience in nonviolence, three ways Thoreau clearly demonstrates these ideals are through Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

The exercise of passive resistance is the basis of the title of Thoreau's work, and King presents several examples of "civil disobedience" in his letter, including the Boston Tea Party. King not only exercises passive resistance, he also provides the procedure to be followed for any nonviolent campaign. They are: collection of the facts to determine whether injustice exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action (2:471). He points out that he has gone through all the steps, and direct action is what brought him to the Birmingham Jail.Recognition of injustice and passive resistance described by both authors is to point out the need of government reformation.

In Henry David Thoreau's essay, "Civil Disobedience", he expresses the transcendental belief that all people must live as individuals, rather than assets of a just or unjust society. Throughout his essay, Thoreau includes various devices to persuade the reader to see his argument on the role that an individual has in society. Some rhetorical strategies he included were use of syntax, appeal to pathos and bandwagon appeals.

King’s ideas regarding civil rights and injustice are valued by most people, and this essay demonstrates how articulate and meaningful his words truly are. Although opposite views can be noted, based on the logistical aspects of struggle, the rational, ethical, and emotional views that King expressed can not accurately be refuted. This essay precisely expresses the importance of fighting for justice, and the correct manner in which to do

Along with McCandless’s view, we see another interpretation of transcendentalism in HDT’s “Civil Disobedience.” Thoreau believed that society has become too dependent on government and it should be less involved. Thoreau states his motto as “that government is best which governs the least”(1). This shows his strong belief that government

Henry David Thoreau was a simplistic man and philosopher well known for his attacks on American controversies. Thoreau was full of opinions and had many problems with the way the United States was run. He had strong opposition towards slavery and spoke his mind when it came to politics. Especially when it came to the Mexican American war, which he heavily disliked. Ralph Waldo Emerson heavily influenced him, and introduced him to the ideas of transcendentalism, a philosophy vital to Thoreau's way of thinking and writing. Thoreau was not an agitator. He did not believe that there shouldn’t be a government, but only a better one than currently existed. The government would not improve itself, so he argued; it was a patriotic man's duty to refuse to support it.

Henry David Thoreau’s words that “disobedience is the true foundation of liberty” and that “the obedient must be slaves” is a political statement that never lost its topicality during the Romantic era. Thoreau served as an important contributor to the philosophical and American literary movement known as New England Transcendentalism. Nature and the conduct of life are two central themes that are often weaved together in his essays and books that were published in the Romantic era of literature. Thoreau brought these two themes together to write on how people ought to live a simplistic life through embracing nature. His naturalistic writing intertwined cataloging and observation with Transcendentalist views of nature. Through his life and

King believed in peaceful protest and said that peace is the only weapon they have. For example it started with his peaceful boycott on all Montgomery public transportation in 1955-1956 .Which proved to be successful considering blacks made up the majority of the transits systems paying customers. This protest paved the way for the Birmingham Campaign in 1963 which was a strategic plan created by Dr. King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference. These throughout protest included boycotting businesses that only hired whites or that had segregated facilities. King proved to others around him that this cause they were fighting for was serious and that he would do whatever it took to achieve equality. Dr. King became known for his concern to make people equal and to ensure that everyone is safe and

The authors both write to and for those who may not have had the confidence to take a stand individually. Thoreau writes to those who have not been corrupted by the government and have the intention of changing something, but maybe not the integrity to carry out the intentions. He states “ Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it “ (Thoreau 1). With this quote Thoreau gives the people the advice they need to obtain the government they wish. Likewise, King aims his words to those who hope to eliminate segregation, but may not know how to help. King states “All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality” (King 3). By using this quote, king demonstrates a valid way of viewing segregation. King and Thoreau wrote to similar audiences, who planned to change their

King. Thoreau was actually arrested before he wrote his famous essay “Civil Disobedience” because he did not want to pay poll taxes and from this incident he decided to write his essay. Thoreau believed that the government should introod in other people's lives but instead should be there for people to use for their will but it is okay to misuse it. Thoreau think it's okay to break the law and that it shouldn't take over someone's life. He differs in this way from Dr. King because King wanted to change the law and make it right for the lives of African American’s. “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… but if it is of such a nature that it 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. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.” (Thoreau Page 8) In this quote Thoreau explains his view of the government and how it should not control people. This is one thing he and dr. King have in common because neither of them wanted to have the law tell them how to live their

An influential literary movement in the nineteenth century, transcendentalism placed an emphasis on the wonder of nature and its deep connection to the divine. As the two most prominent figures in the transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau whole-heartedly embraced these principles. In their essays “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience”, Emerson and Thoreau, respectively, argue for individuality and personal expression in different manners. In “Self-Reliance”, Emerson calls for individuals to speak their minds and resist societal conformity, while in “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau urged Americans to publicly state their opinions in order to improve their own government.

Transcendentalism relates to freedom in several ways. Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are two transcendentalists that have different views on freedom. Our project, representing freedom, shows a person how to live his or her life in a way of freedom shown by Emerson and Thoreau.

American Transcendentalism was an important philosophical and literary movement which placed an emphasis on staying true to one’s beliefs and expressing oneself no matter the situation or consequence. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau fully embraced these beliefs as their influence has allowed these

A similarity that came as a surprise to me is that these two advocators for nonviolent revolt, were willing to break the law if necessary. In “Letter to Birmingham Jail” King quoted St. Augustine “An unjust law is no law at all”. That quote signified to King that if the law was unjust then it should not be followed, because in his eyes it’s not a law at all. Thoreau says in “Civil Disobedience”, “-but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another; then, I say, break the law”. What Thoreau wants to say by that is that if the injustice requires you to be unfair to another