Thoreau was once sent to jail for refusing to pay his taxes and I support this episode of civil disobedience as justified. Thoreau did not pay his taxes because he objected the use of the revenue to finance the Mexican War and enforcement of slavery laws. He did not request for his money to be used for the enforcement of slavery laws, therefore felt he had the right to protest and act out civil disobedience. Paul Harris defines civil disobedience as "an illegal, public, nonviolent, conscientiously motivated act of protest, done by someone who accepts the legitimacy of the legal and political systems and who submits to arrest and punishment" (2). Before I supported his civil disobedience, I opted to see if it was justified.
For Thoreau’s arrest to be an act of civil disobedience, it has to be publicized. Being publicized distinguishes his arrest as civil disobedience rather than being criminal (7). Thoreau had many people offering to pay his taxes but refused to take them. His refusal made his arrest publicized enough for someone to pay his taxes to release him from jail. Civil disobedient acts need to be publicized to show the participant is against the political system. Thoreau showed he was against paying taxes by wanting to stay in jail and arguing that he should be the only person to pay his own taxes. This indicates he wanted his disobedience justified.
For acts of civil disobedience to be justified, those acts need to be acts of protest. Thoreau desired a change ...
King and Thoreau?s approach to civil disobedience is a more civilized way to protest than those at the WTO. King in his letter of response to the Birmingham clergy, ?Letter from Birmingham Jail? he list four basics steps to a non-violent campaign: collection of the facts to determine if injustice exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action (174). In his letter he points out that the individuals involved in the campaign attended a series of workshops on nonviolence. During the workshops individuals were to ask themselves if they were able to accept blows without retaliating and if they could endure the ordeal of jail (174). Thoreau?s approach is slightly different at an individual level but yet was nonviolent. He refused to pay his poll tax, which he felt was unjust. The result was he was arrested and jailed. He applied a type of civil disobedience without eliciting violence.
In 1848, David Thoreau addressed and lectured civil disobedience to the Concord Lyceum in response to his jail time related to his protest of slavery and the Mexican War. In his lecture, Thoreau expresses in the beginning “That government is best which governs least,” which sets the topic for the rest of the lecture, and is arguably the overall theme of his speech. He chastises American institutions and policies, attempting to expand his views to others. In addition, he advances his views to his audience by way of urgency, analyzing the misdeeds of the government while stressing the time-critical importance of civil disobedience. Thoreau addresses civil disobedience to apprise the people of the need for a civil protest to the unjust laws created against the slaves and the Mexican-American war.
This was the idea that Chris McCandless, so closely mimicked. However, McCandless is not the only soul to find truth in the teachings of Thoreau. Recently, a protest to "draw attention to [the] corrupt campaign finance system and rigged voting laws" took place at the U.S. Capitol building. The protest was predicted to last a week, and by the end of the first day over 400 protesters had already been arrested for "crowding, obstructing and incommoding". Despite the arrests, 3,500 people from 33 different states pledged to join in what they describe as “non-violent civil disobedience” (Krieg, Gregory). Civil Disobedience is defined as “the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of influencing legislation or government policy, characterized by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes” (civil disobedience). These nonviolent protesters saw an opportunity to “sit-in against the influence of money in politics and congressional inaction” (Krieg, Gregory). This act of civil disobedience mirrors McCandless’s decision to scorch his remaining money in protest of a money driven
Thoreau, inspired by the actions of Jefferson, stood up for slaves and soldiers in the Mexican-American war by using civil disobedience, to help preserve the American philosophy of the unalienable rights. He urged for other citizens to go against the authority. Thoreau refused to pay taxes due to his strong opposition to slavery and the Mexican-American War. He spent a night in prison due to his refusal to pay taxes to a government in which the money would be going to such things as slavery and the war. Thoreau wants for the people to realize the wrongness in taking soldiers
injustice to another, then I say, break the law." This shows Thoreau’s policy of civil
Though Thoreau 's basis was more along the lines of environmentalism he was quite the political man in his essay Civil Disobedience. Thoreau 's thoughts on the American government can be seen in the first few paragraphs
This is a reason why most people believe that civil disobedience is bad. Civil disobedience is not dangerous because once someone breaks a law and harms others then it is not civil disobedience. Civil disobedience will be peaceful and will not intentionally harm anyone. Thoreau explained in his essay that he “asked for, not at once no government, but at once a better government.” This shows that in civil disobedience is only used to change government laws for the benefit of the people. Thoreau also says “I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterwards.” He believes the law made them subjects and he wanted all men to truly be free, so with civil disobedience he did show he disagreed with the law. With civil disobedience people may show how unjust the laws are because people were being arrested for not
Overall in "Civil Disobedience" Thoreau used many literary techniques to support his beliefs. These included emotional appeal, a hyperbole, and a paradox. Henry Thoreau used numerous more, in "Civil Disobedience" but these three were very strong to back up his confidence in his story. Thoreau just wants people to stand up for themselves, and do what they believe in. Thoreau wants them to be their own person, and express their own opinions. Henry Thoreau believes every single person should have a say in everything. Thoreau's belief is still relevant today. One person can make a huge difference. There happen to be many people who express Thoreau's beliefs including Martin Luther King, Jr., and millions other citizens in our generation.
Martin Luther King Jr. firmly believed in going against a law, if one’s conscience thought it was unjust, but he was not where the mindset originated from. American philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, came up with the concept that a person can deliberately not follow certain laws, as a form of protest, if the law goes against what their conscience views as just. The term for this concept is called civil disobedience. Thoreau had some serious problems with the way the United States was run. He was an outspoken opponent of slavery and bitterly opposed the Mexican – American War, which he viewed as an act of American aggression. In protest, Thoreau refused to pay his poll taxes. He spent a night in jail for this offense in 1848, and was released the next morning when a friend (against his wishes) paid the tax for him. The following year his essay on the topic, “Civil Disobedience,” was published. (Henry)
In the past in this country, Thoreau wrote an essay on Civil disobedience saying that people make the law and have a right to disobey unjust laws, to try and get those laws changed.
Henry David Thoreau's essay entitled, "Resistance to Civil Government," (better known as "Civil Disobedience") has had a wide-reaching effect on prominent leaders in the United States (Riley). Written in 1849, Thoreau rebelled against the government by refusing to pay a tax. He describes, "... [The State] is not armed with superior wit or honesty, but with superior physical strength. I was not born to be forced... What force has a multitude? They only can force me who obey a higher law than I. They force me to become like themselves... What sort of life were that to live?" (Thoreau) In this statement, Thoreau makes a valid point. The State can enforce change, but it cannot really alter people's mentalities. Therefore, in order to create change in the world, we must first change people's hearts through peaceful protests. Other noble leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Susan B. Anthony have patterned their lives after this idea. In this essay, I will argue the necessity of civil rather than violent protest as a means to evoke change in the world. I will also use
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a philosopher and writer who is well known for his criticism of the American government during the time. During Thoreau’s life, there were two major issues being debated in the United States: slavery and the Mexican-American War. Both issues greatly influenced his essay, as he actually practiced civil disobedience in his own life by refusing to pay taxes in protest of the Mexican War. He states that the government should be based on conscience and that citizens should refuse to follow the law and has the duty not to participate and stay as a member of an unjust institution like the government. I argue that the notion of individualism and skepticism toward government is essential in the basis of many important reform movements in the modern society.
...goals, they both discuss similar topics of morality and justice under a government’s rule. In hopes of informing and motivating people, Thoreau and King explain how and why these people should take non-violent action towards unjust laws. From each author’s vivid examples and brilliant analogies, we learn the importance of fighting for justice and maintaining morality. Most importantly, Thoreau and King argue in favor of civil disobedience not only to inspire a fight for freedom from the government, but also to ensure that the people’s God given rights and rights to individuality are preserved for generations.
To begin with, Thoreau expresses that civil disobedience should be more implemented when the just resistance of the minority is seen legally unjust to the structure conformed by the majority. Supporting his position, Thoreau utilizes the role of the national tax in his time; its use which demoralizes the foreign relationship
In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau claims that men should act from their conscience. Thoreau believed it was the duty of a person to disobey the law if his conscience says that the law is unjust. He believed this even if the law was made by a democratic process. Thoreau wrote that a law is not just, only because the majority votes for it. He wrote, “Can there not be a government in which the majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience?” (Thoreau, P. 4). Thoreau wanted a government in the United States that would make the just laws based on conscience, because the people of the country would not let the elected representatives be unfair. Thoreau did not think people can disobey any law when they want to. He believed that people should obey just laws; however, Thoreau thought that not all laws were right, and he wrote that a man must obey what is right, not what is the law: “It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right” (Thoreau, P. 4).