Resistance to Civil Government
The main theme in Henry David Thoreau’s Resistance to Civil Government is that the individual should carry the responsibilities of a good citizen within himself and, therefore, not need to be suppressed by an oppressive government. He felt that people owed it to themselves and their fellow man not to blindly follow their government if they believe their rules and laws are unjust. Thoreau's essential idea is that a higher law than civil law demands the compliance of the person. Human law and government are secondary. Thoreau supports the absolute right of individuals to remove their support from a government whose rules are immoral or discriminatory. Thoreau stated his belief in the power and the duty of the individual to decide right from wrong, independent of the principles of society. Thoreau also urged others to emphasize their individuality, each in their own way. Thoreau objected to the position of the state government regarding its endorsing of the federal government's policies on slavery and the war against Mexico.
Henry David …show more content…
Thoreau considers a man to be someone who has a strong backbone. So solid that one can’t go their hand through it. He states that the American has turned into someone known by the improvement of his structure of sociability, and a show absence of sharpness and cheerful independence. He states that a man should not follow his government if that government is not fair and unjust.
Henry Thoreau’s background is very simple. He was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts and when he got older, Thoreau eventually went to Harvard College. There he studied Greek, Latin, and German. He graduated from college in 1837. Thoreau began writing nature poetry in the 1840s with poet Ralph Waldo Emerson as a guide and friend. In 1845 he started his famous two-year stay on Walden Pond, which he wrote about in his master work, Walden. He was thirty-two years-old when he wrote Resistance to Civil
The main theme in Henry David Thoreau’s Resistance to Civil Government is that the individual should carry the responsibilities of a good citizen within himself and, therefore, not need to be suppressed by an oppressive government. He felt that people owed it to themselves and their fellow man not to blindly follow their government if they believe their rules and laws are unjust. Thoreau's essential idea is that a higher law than civil law demands the compliance of the person. Human law and government are secondary. Thoreau supports the absolute right of individuals to remove their support from a government whose rules are immoral or discriminatory. Thoreau stated his belief in the power and the duty of the individual to decide right from wrong, independent of the principles of society. Thoreau also urged others to emphasize their individuality, each in their own way. Thoreau objected to the position of the state government regarding its endorsing of the federal government's policies on slavery and the war against Mexico.
Henry David …show more content…
Thoreau considers a man to be someone who has a strong backbone. So solid that one can’t go their hand through it. He states that the American has turned into someone known by the improvement of his structure of sociability, and a show absence of sharpness and cheerful independence. He states that a man should not follow his government if that government is not fair and unjust.
Henry Thoreau’s background is very simple. He was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts and when he got older, Thoreau eventually went to Harvard College. There he studied Greek, Latin, and German. He graduated from college in 1837. Thoreau began writing nature poetry in the 1840s with poet Ralph Waldo Emerson as a guide and friend. In 1845 he started his famous two-year stay on Walden Pond, which he wrote about in his master work, Walden. He was thirty-two years-old when he wrote Resistance to Civil