Civil Disobedience Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” was a well written excerpt from 1848, which discussed the many issues on the power, process, and abilities of the United States government. One of the main problems he talks about is the problem of the government overruling the majority to their own legislative consciences. He believed that because of this, the American government was corrupt and faulty. He states: “The standing army is only an arm of the standing government. The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it”. He explains how the people will have their will, but the government will “abuse and pervert …show more content…
By saying “to speak practically and as a citizen, he uses Ethos to relate with his audience, which is most likely citizens of America. He is trying to show that he is speaking practically and with reason, and is doing more than just an anti-government rant or even complaint. He juxtaposes himself of someone who speaks practically, and someone who is speaking as a citizen of the United States, and successfully does so.

Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” was well crafted to successfully get his belief of a better government across. He uses Pathos to make his audience better understand how he feels about the topic, and then uses ethos to show that he isn’t just some sort of anarchist who wants no government and chaos. He argued against the government making their own decisions based of their own consciences, and not the people’s. Thoreau summarizes this with a quote, “That government is best which governs

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