The Night Henry David Thoreau Spent In Jail

Citizens have many rights in their country. They are the ones who choose their

leader. Therefore, they should have a right to choose whether they want to support a war

or not. Thoreau said,” If the law is of such a nature that it requires you to be an agent of

injustice to another, then I say, break the law." This shows Thoreau’s policy of civil

disobedience. He thought that people should live under what they believe in and not by

the government’s rules. Another influence of civil disobedience was Martin Luther King,

Jr. He and other protesters fought for what they believed in a non-violent way. He and

others deserved the right to be free and equal. They did not back down until they were

treated equal. They had a moral obligation to resist and show others how to do so.

Even though America was fighting against the Mexican threat, Williams was

fighting an internal threat. Williams was in a tug of war with slavery and freedom. He

wanted live free in the world like other people, but during that time the government

wouldn’t allow it. Williams was killed on his way to Canada, but his dream never died.

Thoreau wanted Emerson to deliver a speech and stand up for what’s right, but he failed

Thoreau.

Strong scenes show that Thoreau is against the war. He had a vision showing

Williams being fired at by soldiers and escaping. One of the strongest scenes is when both

the U.S. and Mexican armies were firing on each other. After the smoke cleared a dying

John was laying on the ground. Thoreau cradled him. That scene was good reason for

anyone not to support a war. In the scene, Emerson was president and he really didn’t