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Thoreau, a Harvard philosopher, wrote in 1849 an essay explaining himself, who spent a night in jail to protest taxes that funded the Mexican-American War. Likewise, Tim Dechristopher, an environmental activist in 2008, disrupted the bid for oil drilling leases, to hinder and protest the destruction of the environment. Thoreau explains his antithesis, “If [U.S. Citizens] pay the tax from a mistaken interest in the individual taxes, to save his property, or prevent his going to jail, it is because they have not considered wisely how far they let their private feelings interfere with the public good” (Thoreau 3, 10). Hence, he states that doing unjust and illegal activities is justifiable, if it boosts public welfare. Similarly, Dechristopher’s illegal act of fraud is justified in the New York Times article, “Activist said the sale would threaten Utah’s wild lands and spoil the view from some of the state’s spectacular national parks with drilling rigs” (Associated Press 11). As many environmental activists agree, the public welfare of the people relies on the health of the environment. Seeing Dechristopher verbally support his own act of civil disobedience, and in like manner, Thoreau justifying his act and accepting it, it is deducted that they are both embodiments of civil disobedience. If civil disobedience was construed, Thoreau and…
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Rebellion is a big difference between the two writings. Thoreau wants a world without government and wants to achieve that with peaceful rebellion. “It will not be worth the while to accumulate property; that would be sure to go again. You must hire or squat somewhere, and raise but…
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These lines are from Thoreau’s essay, Civil Disobedience. In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau speaks out in a personal voice, where he exemplifies the Transcendentalist movement and philosophy he follows. The tone of these lines are portrayed by the use of the language, which indirectly describes that he feels negatively toward the State “forcing” people to live their life in in accordance to the set regulations of the State. In these particular lines, he demonstrates his opinion on how he will not be forced by the State to conform to society, and suggests that people should not live a forced life. He writes “They force me to become like themselves”, which directly shows how the State is pressuring Thoreau to abide their laws and rules.…
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Thoreau starts his essay by condemning his fellow countrymen’s actions, or rather, inaction. They and Thoreau share similar moral beliefs, but they refuse to take any action towards them.…
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In today’s society, it is often unclear where to draw the line between good morals and effective government. It is for this reason that many times, laws that are enacted for the “good of the people” can be in direct conflict with a person’s conscience. Due to the various struggles that the United States has faced in building a government, this topic has been a popular discussion throughout American literature. Although they did not live during the same time, American writers Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr. each wrote about how a person should not follow laws that they believe to be immoral. Thoreau’s main concern pertained to the legal existence of slaves and slave-owners, and a century later, King spoke out against legal segregation in the South. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. shares the same attitude with Henry David Thoreau’s work, “Civil Disobedience” concerning just and unjust laws; however, they each had different means of executing their beliefs.…
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Henry David Thoreau sets the tone throughout the document "On Duty of Civil Disobedience" by maintaining a very serious tone. Thoreau states his opinions regarding how the United States government should be run. He also points out how unjust occurrences and regulations stifle the minds of the US citizens.…
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In The Case Against Civil Disobedience the unknown author claims in his very first sentence that “the most striking characteristic of civil disobedience is its irrelevance to the problems of today” and that it is “the resort… exercised because the subject cannot or will not take up the rights and duties of the citizen.” What he fails to realize is that the rights and duties of a citizen is to keep an eye on the laws that rule the land and to revolt when those laws become unjust. It’s all part and parcel to the social contract thought up by Locke and heavily leaned upon by Thomas Jefferson. As Henry David Thoreau says in Civil Disobedience, “a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscious.” Civil disobedience can never become irrelevant because corruption will forever attempt to corrode even the best intentions of a government and so there will always be a need to revolt when unjust laws get pasted.…
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In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau expresses his strong disapproval of the American government. He even makes the following statement: "the best government is the one that governs the least." This quote shows us that Thoreau really does have a strong dislike for the government and that he will rebel against it. Thoreau does in fact rebel against the government by not paying his taxes. This causes him to suffer one night in jail. In his isolation, he is able to think, and concludes that he would rather be in jail than out in the real world.…
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The idea of civil disobedience brings much controversy when it’s being discussed. Many distinctive perceptions have been made regarding the topic, but a substantial amount of people have seen Henry David Thoreau’s assumption in his essay, Civil Disobedience. In his essay, Thoreau theorized, “That government is best which governs least.” The population of the United States is politically divided due to the fact that different groups and cultures of people have conflicting viewpoints on topics like these. Some of the population agrees with Thoreau, that there should be a more just government that what exists. Recently, there has been an uprising in the nation due to a protest made by a football team. Many people of America are debating the meaning…
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It is ironic that Jefferson, writer of the "Declaration of Independence," died 20 years prior to Thoreau even writing "Civil Disobedience." The two author's works contain numerous parallel discussions about government corruption and the immoral act of slavery.…
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Civil Disobedience is an insightful peaceful and in many cases more effective than simple violence at addressing ills in society. If one wishes to partake in civil disobedience they must follow three rules or steps, one they must identify an ill in society usually involving governmental oppression. second they need to break said laws or or rules they see ill. And thirdly and possibly most important they must accept all punishment without retaliation or resistance. Another major factor in civil disobedience is the ability for one to gain followers who believe in and will sacrifice themselves for the cause. The tools people use to convince other to follow or believe them are called the tools of rhetoric. Rhetoric users convince other by using…
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The laws and regulations that have been set on our country are primarily what the government see as appealing to the American public. Much like in the Mexican American War which Thoreau referes to show that the majority is capable of taking over authority. In the essay he also referes to slavery to prove the same point. In Civil Disobedience Henry David Thoreau's argument that the American people should question the government and it's authority is logical because it shows that the public has more of a say and that the actions of the men fighting show more American customs than the actual government.…
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In Thoreau’s essay, “Resistance to Civil Government,” he responds to the Mexican-American War and slavery. Believing that the government is futile, he argues that those working for the government are machines following…
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Lastly, Thoreau uses ethical appeal in the story to stand against the limited government. “This is the only mode in which a man situated as I am necessarily meets it;…
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Henry David Thoreau decided to remove himself from his ordinary life in society, and relocated himself to an area outside the town Concord. His once typical life now became that of a forest dweller. He built himself a quaint little home near Walden Pond. He chose to approach a life of simplicity by building his own home, living in the forest gathering his own food and fending for himself in essentially all aspects of his life. Ezra Pond makes a claim that Thoreau is demonstrating his indifference to humans and traditional societies, but that is not the case. Thoreau was merely trying to demonstrate just how unnecessary most societal desires were to live a fulfilled life.…
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