Henry David Thoreau, a popular philosopher and essayist during the Civil War, left a prominent mark on American history through his influential essay "Civil Disobedience". "Civil Disobedience", originally titled "Resistance to the Civil Government", urges his audience to question laws instead of blinding accepting them or acquiescing to them. He argues that government is often ineffective because it doesn't represent the majority of views. Through the use of persuasive, calm, language, he calls for a better American government.
His opinion on slavery is a fundamental part of his essay and a massive point of contention for America during the 1800s. Thoreau was an abolitionist and he maintained a strong view that it was not enough to simply be against slavery and the mistreatment of African-Americans; it was necessary to take action. Thoreau was arrested for repeatedly refusing to pay taxes to the government. In his essay, he urges his audience to conscientiously make the decision to pay their taxes to a government that unjustly enslaves humans.
In response to his remarks, support for the abolitionist movement became much stronger as people began to take action against slavery. John Brown, infamous for sparking a failed slave rebellion in 1859, was even praised by Thoreau.
Today, his essay remains exceptionally relevant. Several civil-rights movements are attributed to inspiration from his powerful essay; civil-rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi held similar ideals of justice at the core of their protests. Not only is he relevant to broad social movements, but Thoreau's essay also provides inspiration to the individual average citizen. As the government continues to change, we should continue to question laws that are being made and whether they truly benefit Americans.
Sources:
https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/thoreau-and-civil-disobedience/
https://www.crf-usa.org/black-history-month/thoreau-and-civil-disobedience
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/martin-luther-king-and-gandhi-werent-only-ones-inspired-thoreaus-civil-disobedience-180963972/
I thought your post was very concise and straight forward. In my opinion, Thoreau had an excellent point that citizens should not just follow their government blindly, and if they have a problem with it they should take action. I especially liked your conclusion about how we should apply his idea to today's day and age despite the height of its popularity being the mid 1800's.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really well written post, I especially like the last paragraph where stated how Thoreau's words still live on today, It was a nice way of connecting things from the past to issues closer to today. I wonder, would walkouts be considered a form of civil disobedience? It's definitely not the same as not paying taxes but there are consequences for not going to school and both are choosing to disobey for the greater good. If so, it's really interesting to see how Thoreau's essay is still in effect today, even at our school.
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