Sec. 1-
- Opening: expresses Thoreau's libertarian view that the best gov't has the least power and control over its citizens
- government does not achieve the things we credit it with: it does not "keep the country free, settle the West, or educate"
- rather, it comes from the american people who would have more success if the gov't interfered less
- when he says that speaking "practically and as a citizen," he doesn't want to get rid of the government right away. Rather, he is asking for a better government.
- When he writes: "Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think we should be men first, and subjects afterward," he is saying that it's more important to develop a respect for the right, rather than the law law, because our obligations as people are to do what is right
- Too much respect for law/authority leads people to do unjust things, such as war
- How should we behave towards the government? Thoreau says to get rid of it all together. He says: "I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave's government also."
- Thoreau states that we all have both a right and a duty to rebel
- Thoreau criticizes the idea that government should be obeyed just to preserve the services we enjoy
- people must do what justice requires regardless of the cost- even if it is your own life
- Thoreau says: "If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to him though I drown myself." He means that the people of the US must stop slavery and the war with Mexico, even if it costs them their existence as a people.
- envisions a society where government is eli...
... middle of paper ...
...ays that he has to obey his own laws and try to flourish in this way.
- says he pays the highway tax because he wants to be a good neighbor but he actually avoids all taxes
- his refusing to pay taxes is his refusal to pay allegiance to the State all together (He says "I quietly declare war with the State, after my fashion, though I will still make what use and get what advantage of her I can, as is usual in such cases.")
- says he doesn't have patience for lawyers
- says that Daniel Webster is the only sensible politician, despite failing to make reforms
- Says that Webster only supported slavery because that's the US accepted it in the beginning
- Thoreau says that gov't authority is "impure"
- for gov't to be just it has to be based on what the people of a society want not what is pushed on them by the gov't
- he wants a state that respects the individual
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 the need for a civil protest to the unjust laws created
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).
In “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau stated that government should be expedient and conscientious. He started off his essay with his motto, “That government is best which governs least” and “That government is best which governs not at all.” He meant that we did not need a government that made rules and that the government should let the people do whatever they wanted to do. He believed that government should be expedient, not inexpedient. “Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.” He used a lot of examples to justify the inexpedient government. One of them was the Mexican-American war. “Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure…” It was inexpedient because war was just a tool for a few powerful individuals and did not have consent of the multitude. He believed that the government should help most of the people, not just a few rich people. In addition, the minority rule, in w...
...for him to do). Instead Thoreau believes that as unjust and imperfect as democracy is at that particular time, he looks to better times, a time when legislators have more wisdom and integrity and hold humanity in a higher regard. He recognizes that fairness exists in the hearts and minds of individuals, some whom he knows personally and he holds to a hope that men like these can and will transform what is in their conscience into a “state at last which can afford to be just to all men and to treat the individual with respect…”
From these three men, we can learn the significance of detaching ourselves from the social norm and instead, fight for our values in a non-violent way, in order to make a change in our government’s corrupt and unjust laws. In “Resistance to Civil Government,” Thoreau articulates the importance he places on resistance against a powerful, controlling government. He opens his essay with a reference to the quote, “‘That government is best which governs not at all,’” and shares the motto, “‘That government is best which governs least’” (Civil).... ...
...have the capacity to be self-regulating and independent. This is seen in the first chapter, when he states, “Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinions” (p.10). From this, one is able to see Thoreau’s desire to limit the power of states and he guarantees freedom and equality for all the citizens living in a state.
Thoreau was against the The Mexican American War and the act of Slavery in our society and was very skeptical towards the U.S government regarding these issues. The U.S government did more to harm the citizens of America more than it did to protect them and Thoreau realized that and was not afraid to speak his mind.. The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free” Thoreau is saying that don't just wait for change to come, make the change happen. He stand for what is right regardless of the consequences, therefore, he wanted the citizens of America to be bold enough to do the same.
Rather, he should always protest for his autonomy. Thoreau expands on this subject in Civil Disobedience. After expressing his desires for a small government, he questions the idea of government itself: “Must the citizen ever for a moment...resign his conscience to the legislator?...[W]e should be men first, and subjects afterwards” (Civil Disobedience 171). Placing the individual over the government, Thoreau shows his passion for the self. That person’s actions may go awry, but, at least, the person still has the right to learn from his or her wrongs. Thoreau likens a meaningful existence with unyielding trust in a person’s inner voice. Without nurturing this voice, an individual loses his or her personhood. Such unwavering loyalty to the self best characterizes the transcendental ideal life, where one only needs to follow intuition to be
Very often, the best authors, whether it be of a novel or an essay, clearly state their opinions and facts using various literary techniques and devices. From reading other Thoreau works, such as excerpts from Walden and Excursions, I was able to infer that he has his own unique, unmatched writing style. Most ordinary and banal writers start their essays with long, tedious descriptions of the point they are trying to convey. But like all great writers and thinkers, Thoreau begins his essay with a strong, captivating sentence: "That government is best which governs least" (222). Thoreau's opening line grabs and lets the reader know what topic(s) the essay will be discussing. As it turns out, this opening sentence is the basis for the rest of his essay as he encourages individuals to take responsibility for keeping the government in constant check. He believes that the best way for a country and its people to survive is if individuals are willing to exert control over the government and not be ruled like sheep.
Even though it passed more that a hundred of years after Thoreau posted his essay, his ideas are still germane today. I can relate Thoreau’s concept not only to American government, but also to authorities all over the world. It doesn’t seem that the people rule the country anymore; the authorities are led by few individuals who have the most influence. Even though this is very visible, people don’t do anything about that, they are just some marionettes in the hands of the ones who rule the system. Many parliaments from the world lost the notion about making the laws to protect the people, but not themselves as the higher class of the country.
"Civil Disobedience" by Thoreau describes the government and what he believes is best. Thoreau implements diction and imagery to support his claim that the best government is one that does not govern at all.
While Emerson and Thoreau certainly have difference of opinions, they recognize the need for public discussion and discourse. Emerson declares “a foolish consistency” to be “the hobgoblin of little minds” (Emerson 367). This is shown in their essays “Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience” in which they support individuality and personal expression. Despite their contrasting views of society and government, the two most prominent transcendentalists in literary history share a passionate belief in the necessity that every American must exercise their constitutional rights and make known their views even and especially if it challenges the status quo.
In reality, the government only exists because the people have chosen it to execute their
Glick, Wendell, ed. "Resistance to Civil Government." The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau: Reform Papers. Princeton University Press, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. .
This includes the need to prioritize one's conscience over the dictates of laws, based on the principle by Thoreau that we men should be first, and subjects afterwards. People have an important duty to refuse a government that is corrupt, and distance themselves from these unjust institutions.