Thoreau's Civil Disobedience

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To history, civil disobedience is the driving force that is integral to keeping a free society free. It is in civil disobedience that we find the keys to social change. From Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, one of the first intellectual writings supporting the idea, to the Black Lives Matter movement, and the Women's March on DC after President Trump's inauguration, civil disobedience is found as a prominent theme, a theme that keeps government as the tool to serve the will of the common many, rather than the will of the powerful few. Without civil disobedience, “we the people” risk losing the identity of a free society, and risk losing the core values the US government was founded upon in 1776, the values the framers of the Constitution had in mind post-Revolution, post-King George III's tyrannical rule. Through its implication during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, to the civil unrest that spurred the colonies into revolution, to the Black Lives Matter movement today, civil disobedience has always been there as a positive non-violent method of voicing the disapproval of the people to government.

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Without his actions, the US may still be divided along racial lines, and its citizens may perceive racism to be “normal”. King uses his authority among the black communities in the South to stir civil unrest, not for the destruction of law, but for the attention of lawmakers to take action against the inequality. In the bigger picture, King has established that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, which ties King back to the positivity of civil disobedience. Because King voiced the black minority's disapproval of their lack of any civil rights, it stirred social change and progress in our free

Civil Disobedience And Thoreau's Analysis

yet life in these our bones, we will never comply with your arbitrary laws” (Gandhi). This statement from Mohandas K. Gandhi’s “from On Civil Disobedience,” is stating his belief that civil disobedience does not have to be a violent act, but a peaceful and public protest. In many ways Gandhi is similar to Henry David Thoreau, who wrote “from Civil Disobedience,” and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who wrote “from Letter from Birmingham City Jail.” Thoreau argues that people should go against governmental…

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Thoreau's Role In Civil Disobedience

out. He did this to make a public statement: "I refuse to support the war." Thoreau's friend, the Unitarian minister Ralph Waldo Emerson, came to visit him in jail. Emerson asked why Thoreau was allowing himself to waste away in jail when he had the money to pay the taxes. Thoreau responded with a challenge to his friend. He stated, "The question is not what am I doing in here, but what are you doing out there?" To Thoreau's frustration, his tax was paid by a relative who also could not tolerate his…

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Thoreau's View Of Civil Disobedience

Since the dawn of civilization, human beings have been questioning the honesty of the establishments under which they are governed. Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience is a prime example of this mindset. In his dissertation, Thoreau expresses his disdain for what the American government has become during his time, as well his disbelief at the complacency of the populace in the face of such unbridled injustice. Through his speculations on the people themselves, the prevalence of morality in society…

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What Is Thoreau's Response To Civil Disobedience

counter-active and inflicts more harm than good. It is ironic that people whom want social progression would regress to acts of violence. Peaceful resistance to laws is essential to achieving the desired outcome. Henry David Thoreau’s essay titled Civil Disobedience describes his reasons for resisting the law in order to protest an unjust practice. Thoreau refused to pay his taxes to express his vehement opposition to slavery. In the essay he argues that what a person believes to be right is…

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Thoreau's Theory Of Civil Disobedience

laws that promote freedom, justice and equality. Although this is ideal, in theory, it doesn’t always happen, and in those moments where the laws conflict with what the people find to be just, and free, civil disobedience and protests are born. Henry David Thoreau coined the term “civil disobedience” in his 1848 essay, which attempted to justify his refusal to pay the state poll tax enacted by the government to pay for a war against Mexico and enforce the Fugitive Slave Laws. Thoreau argued that the…

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Henry David Thoreau's On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience

In the riveting text On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, I must admit that I have come to agree with many of the concepts and ideas that Henry David Thoreau has proposed. One pivotal idea that has stuck with me is found when he states, “The only obligation which I have a right to assume, is to do at any time what I think right” (“On the Duty of Civil Disobedience”, p.5). In a perfect world, this concept would be absolutely ideal. The government would have never been able to oppress the slaves for…

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Explain Thoreau's Primary Motivation For Civil Disobedience

Thoreau's primary motivation for Civil Disobedience was his night in jail for failing to pay a poll tax, which was intended to pay for the war with Mexico. At the time, the US was divided over slavery and Thoreau uses slavery as a vehicle in his essay to show the necessity of opposing immoral government actions even when only indirectly…

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Thoreau's Use Of Peaceful Resistance To Civil Disobedience

“If it [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.” These words and Henry Thoreau’s larger essay “civil disobedience” helped to inspire other reformers such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi to use peaceful resistance of unjust laws, in their own fights against injustices. But how does such acts of resistance impact a free society. If resistance to an unjust law results in the abolition of that form of injustice…

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The Three Types Of Men In Thoreau's Civil Disobedience

The historical and literary references Ellison employs emphasize how society is best served by controversial and conscientious individuals (through their _____ actions). Following the condescending first sentence, Ellison utilizes Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” to stress how there are three types of men: “wooden men [, men who] serve the state chiefly with their heads [, and the] very few [who] serve the state with their consciences” (1). The wooden men and the men who serve the state with their…

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The First Amendment Of Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience

Peaceful resistance to laws is a crucial part of a free society as it allows expression of unrest and disagreement in a way that is not meant to cause mass rioting or threats to public safety. Civil disobedience has been displayed throughout many cases in history, and is still present in the current society that we live in. It is a significant part of the freedom of the people, including freedom of expression, thought, and speech. This type of resistance allows even the smallest voice to be heard…

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