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Comments And Questions About Civil Disobedience By Henry David Thoreau
Thoreau essay on civil disobedience
Thoreau essay on civil disobedience
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Civil Disobedience makes governments more accountable for their actions and has been an important catalyst for overcoming unpopular government policies. To voice his disgust with slavery, in 1849 Henry David Thoreau published his essay, Civil Disobedience, arguing that citizens must not allow their government to override their principles and have a civic duty to prevent their government from using unjust means to ends. The basis for Thoreau’s monumental essay was his refusal to pay a poll tax, which subsequently landed him a night in county jail. In his passage: “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. If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil; 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...
In Henry Thoreau’s essay, Resistance to Civil Government, the harmless actions he takes to rebel against the government are considered acts of civil disobedience. He talks about how the government acts wrongful such as, slavery and the Mexican-American war. This writing persuades Nathaniel Heatwole, a twenty-year-old college student studying at Guildford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, to take matters into his own hands, by smuggling illegal items on multiple Southwest airplanes. The reason in that being, is to show the people that our nation is unsafe and dangerous. In doing this, he takes his rebellion one step too far, by not only jeopardizing his life, but as well as many other innocent lives.
Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau each write exemplary persuasive essays that depict social injustice and discuss civil disobedience, which is the refusal to comply with the law in order to prove a point. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King speaks to a specific audience: the African Americans, and discusses why he feels they should bring an end to segregation. Thoreau on the other hand, in “Civil Disobedience,” speaks to a broader, non-addressed audience as he largely expresses his feelings towards what he feels is an unjust government. Both essays however, focus on the mutual topics of morality and justice and use these topics to inform and motivate their audience to, at times, defy the government in order to establish the necessary justice.
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.
“All machines have their friction―and possibly this does enough good to counterbalance the evil… But when the friction comes to have its machine… I say, let us not have such a machine any longer” (Thoreau 8). In Henry David Thoreau’s essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” the author compares government to a machine, and its friction to inequity. He believes that when injustice overcomes a nation, it is time for that nation’s government to end. Thoreau is ashamed of his government, and says that civil disobedience can fight the system that is bringing his country down. Alas, his philosophy is defective: he does not identify the benefits of organized government, and fails to recognize the danger of a country without it. When looked into, Thoreau’s contempt for the government does not justify his argument against organized democracy.
Thoreau wrote "Civil Disobedience" in 1849 after spending a night in the Walden town jail for refusing to pay a poll tax that supported the Mexican War. He recommended passive resistance as a form of tension that could lead to reform of unjust laws practiced by the government. He voiced civil disobedience as "An expression of the individual's liberty to create change" (Thoreau 530). Thoreau felt that the government had established order that resisted reform and change. "Action from principle, the perception and the performance of right, changes things and relations; it is essentially revolutionary" (Thoreau 531).
Throughout Civil Disobedience, Thoreau imposes a “better government” due to the American government’s imperfection. Thoreau’s statement: “That government is best which governs not at all” is supported by his observation of the American government and provides
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 (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.
Henry David Thoreau wrote an essay entitled Civil Disobedience that was published in 1854 in the collection of essays called Walden; or Life in the Woods. Thoreau first wrote of civil disobedience in opposition to the Mexican War, but his words still hold truth and meaning for us today. In Civil Disobedience Thoreau explains his ideas about government and whether or not we should obey laws that do not appear to the individual to be moral. Thoreau recognizes that there can be abuse to government, and simply because something is passed as law, does not make it right. He says:
In the times of Thoreau and, even long before that , the idea that the common man could fight against the higher class man without bearing arms, and without the shedding of blood was near unheard of. Although he was not the first to bring forth the idea that men do not have to wage war to end injustice, his ideas were well put together, and now that the printing press had become well established, reached many more people than any paper would have in previous years. His ideas, both then and now, have proved why it is so influential to keep your ground without dropping to the level of your oppressor, however, sometimes the only words a man will hear come from the mouth of a blade.
Displayed front and center was the call for government disobedience called for than in Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience.” Living in full by the motto, “government is best” when “governs least,” Thoreau takes this idea very seriously as he develops new concepts (Thoreau 382). In other words, the government is best when it is least involved with the people. An example of this, which Thoreau derived his opinion from, is the taxation to support and fuel the slave trade society of the southern antebellum. These independent citizens are at a disadvantage because they were forced to adhere to ideals they did not fully support. Through such a situation, the unjust tax money is failed to be discussed between the governed people, rather in the hands of the corrupt limited government lies the fate of the economic fuel. Additionally, Thoreau sheds more light on the specific encroachments that the seemingly perfect government has committed with no limitations. Taking into account that the “mass men serve the state… not as men mainly, but as machines” the work force is driven by supply rather than demand (Thoreau 383). This magnification at the central body of the governed people, in conjunction with the government, exemplifies the physical action of the statement, ignorance is bliss. Thus proving that the avoidance and coherence with the state will lead to a brain wash effect within the mass
On the Duty of Civil Disobidience written by Henry David Thoreau is focused on the flaws of the government and how an individual should responded to the
Civil disobedience and peaceful resistance were the crux of Henry David Thoreau's beliefs and those beliefs abide to influence today’s activists. Thoreau did not believe that we shouldn’t have a government, just a better, more improved and less involved government. Thoreau said "I heartily accept the motto, 'That government is best which governs least, and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically"(Thoreau). He also believed if the government would not improve, then its our duty to refuse to obey it. Thoreau wrote, "but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support"(Thoreau). Thoreau believed that if the laws were
The act of civil disobedience is described as the peaceful refusal to obey with specific laws or pay taxes or fines in response to a political or social issue. American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau discussed such an act in his essay Resistance to Civil Government. Thoreau believes that sometimes-unlawful action is needed for social change, but he is not an advocate for violence and rather avoids it. During the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King practiced civil disobedience in a similar fashion to Thoreau. Another significant protest in the turbulent 1990s had taken place in Vietnam, which was under Ngo Dinh Diem’s reign. During Diem’s incumbency, Buddhists face persecution. In response to this, Thích Quảng Đức protested by self-immolation,
There have been many controversial events that have happened all throughout history. Many of them due to the fight between your conscience and what you’re supposed to believe. People had to choose if they follow their heart or be like everyone else. Henry David Thoreau, a philosopher, wrote about this struggle in his essay, “Civil Disobedience.” Back in the 1960’s, when African Americans were heavily segregated against many people saw this as unjust and went against the government to fight for what they believe in. Things didn’t change for a long time, even though the job of our government was to protect people and give them their freedom and rights. In this current day a battle between the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline and the