Thorau's Impacts Of Civil Disobedience, By Henry David Thoreau

Throughout the course of history people across the world have protested and fought for what they believed in. Henry David Thoreau, after spending a night in jail for failure to pay the poll tax, wrote a well-known essay titled “Resistance to Civil Government,” which was later renamed “Civil Disobedience.” Thoreau’s essay on civil disobedience would later influence generations of activists including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi (Mass Moments: Henry David Thoreau Spends Night in Jail). This particular essay would later influence a movement that can still be seen today. It is believed that in 1842 Thoreau stopped paying his poll tax to boycott the states support of slavery and the Mexican-American war. Then in 1846 while running errands in town came across Sam Staples who at the time served as the Concord constable, tax collector and jailer. During Staples visit with Thoreau he was asked for the payment of his back taxes, which Thoreau refused. With the refusal to pay his taxes Thoreau would be jailed until payment was made. During his time in

He also states he believes “that government is best which governs not at all” (Thoreau). This can be seen as his support of a government that does not impose on the lives of its citizens. Thoreau believes that it is in ones best interest to base decisions on their moral code and to listen to their conscience. It is human nature to either support or object certain aspects of government, and one must chose to follow blindly or take a stand for what they believe. Two ways one can go about protesting their cause is in a violent or peaceful manner. Thoreau’s non-payment of his taxes is seen as peaceful resistance, and one that he was jailed for. Thoreau writes “under a government which imprisons unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison”