Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
Civil Disobedience was written by Henry David Thoreau. The Letter From A Birmingham Jail was written by Martin Luther King Jr. They both had similarities and differences. There were injustices that were done wrong to each of them by others in the society in which they both lived. The injustices and civil disobedience they incurred should never happen to anyone. Henry David Thoreau spoke in an emotional tone in his essay “Civil Disobedience.” The emotional part of his essay of Civil Disobedience is that he wants the people to speak up about what type of government they would want to have. Another emotional part was when he started to tell the people to stop paying their taxes so that if the government doesn’t get what they want then maybe they will reform and change their ways. Most of the people are afraid of the government and what the government will do to them and their property if someone disobeys their orders. The government has the right to take their property away from them. The government lets them keep their property if the people listen and obey what they say. The people feel that the government is protecting their rights. Thoreau want the people to rebel against the government and revolutionize together because they are treated like slaves and subjected to military law. People want a better government but they won’t do anything to correct the situation. They always think someone else will do something but no one ever does so nothing ever changes. It is very hard to change the minds of people who support the government the way it is. Men are afraid it will make things much worse for them if they go against the government even if they know they are right and the government is wrong. Thoreau says, “If you think you are right in your opinion then you are the majority and stand up for your rights against the government. Stop giving the government what it wants and maybe the government will reform to what the people want.” He wants people