Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” inspired a revolution of men to do what is right. His term: civil disobedience, refers to people protesting unjust laws by refusing to comply with them. This process is not just for any laws and practices but ones that cannot be resolved by the Democratic process. In his time, Thoreau referred to slavery and the Mexican-American War. Thoreau found both of these pieces of history to be hypocritical of the United States moral values. The United States stands for the home of the free when, in fact, they enslaved people. He refused to be a part of the government and He showed his civil disobedience by not paying taxes. He was put in jail for this, saying: “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly,…
Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience had the original idea of and was put affect. He was revolutionary as he endorsed a form of protest that did not need violence or fear. Thoreau’s initial actions involving the protest governmental issues like slavery. It then landed him in jail as he refused to pay taxes. More than one hundred years later, the same issue of equal rights was dividing the U. S. apart. African Americans, like Martin Luther King Jr., followed in Thoreau’s footsteps by partaking in acts of civil disobedience. Peaceful rallies drew attention to the issue while keeping it from turning into a violent problem. Thoreau’s ideas were becoming prevalent because the ideas were used in cases as Brown v. Board of Education. The main…
Disobedience is a very controversial topic due to the fact that history represents such a wide range of extremities of this ideology. Disobedience can be perceived in many different ways and it can either help or destroy the structure of society. An example of disobedience in society that has proved very successful in the past is civil disobedience. Throughout history, civil disobedience has made a huge impact on the U.S. government and is responsible for several popular social reforms. Many of the world’s most inspirational leaders used civil disobedience to reconstruct society and develop remarkable social change. Examples of these leaders include Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and Rosa Parks. These people were able to…
In "Civil Disobediance", by Thoreau, Thoreau claims that there should be improvement from the government, and that people should fight for it. Thoreau uses paradox, and similes to convince his readers that they should take the initiative to speak up.…
Thoreau uses tone and imagery to make his theme stronger in Civil Disobedience. He uses the rhetorical devices in a convincing matter.…
Thoreau says, “If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to him and drown myself.” This metaphors sums up most of what he is saying in On the Duty of Civil Disobedience. The person unjustly wresting the plank from the drowning man is the government, and the drowning man himself is the citizens of a government. This is to say that if the government wrongly takes from its citizens to save itself, then the government must first give what has been taken back to its citizens and then the government should fall to its demise. Thoreau’s main point is to say that the most optimal scenario is to not have a government at all because “the only times when government has been useful has been when it has stood aside,” but realistically this isn’t possible, so he suggests to have a better government put in place. One that has minimal power and doesn’t control its citizens. Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience relates to modern times because our government today needs to be put in check and has made many examples of governing people too much.…
According to the Encarta World English Dictionary, civil disobedience is the deliberate breaking of a law by ordinary citizens, carried out as nonviolent protest or passive resistance. Henry David Thoreau, author of Civil Disobedience, had idealistic motives. He visualized a perfect government, free of harm, fault, and malfunction. Of course, this government he spoke of was purely off his needs, failing to review or analyze the needs of his fellow citizens. In accusing the reader, Thoreau obtained the reactions he wanted. Raised eyebrows, negative feedback, debates, and retorting, were the resulting factors. The disputes sparked are endless. “The authority of government is still an impure one.” This statement suggests Thoreau recognized that the government was not liable to revolutionize. In spite of this, he erects a disgraceful depiction of the reader, and presents it. Obliterating the observer’s self-esteem, he conveys amusement, and portrays the indignity that they will forever undergo. “Through this wound a man’s real manhood and immorality flow out, and he bleeds to an everlasting death.” Using the same strategy, Thoreau highlights subject to shame as far more catastrophic than materialistic loss. The outcome of this irrational strategy leads to grudges, resentment, loathing and further argumentation, defeating the purpose to begin with.…
Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience advocates the need to prioritize one's conscience over the dictates of laws. It criticizes American social institutions and policies, most prominently slavery and the Mexican American War. In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau introduces the idea of civil disobedience that was used later by Mohandas Gandhi…
2. Thoreau considers civil disobedience as a duty rather than a right because he believes that the individual should “make known what kind of government would command his respect,” which “will be one step toward obtaining it” (941). When a civil law, or a law established by the government contradicts with the divine law, it becomes a duty for an individual to disobey the civil law. In his essay, Thoreau describes majority of the men as “machines,” serving the state “not as merely as men mainly” (941). Thoreau believes that in order to preserve the moral sense of the individual, civil disobedience is necessary and it is the duty of the people to go against the civil law.…
As defined by Merriam-Webster, civil disobedience is the refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government. One way of practicing civil disobedience is by peaceful resistance, like protests. Peaceful resistance to laws have positively impacted society, and I am going to explain using three examples. The fact of the matter is our nation was built from an act of peaceful resistance.…
There have been multiple instances in history where civil disobedience changes the world.. The idea of opposing laws to make a clear message to either ordinary citizens or politicians has played huge impacts into society. Instances like the Salt March in March of 1930, the General Textile Strike in 1934, and the José Bové versus McDonald’s situation in 1999. All three of these examples perfectly describes the idea of civil disobedience. One of the most infamous examples of civil disobedience in history is the Salt March of 1930. The march, led by Mohandas Gandhi, was a protest against the British rule in India. According to History.com, the Salt Acts prohibited collecting and selling the salt, which was necessary to the Indian diet. This led…
The one night he only spent in jail, he was released by a wealthy friend who could not bear to see him in that place. Thoreau states “unjustly, the true place for a man is also prison”, but his actions contradict this. (7). Thoreau’s philosophical take on civil disobedience would have changed had he had to spend a year or a decade in prison, or in a prison that was full of hardened criminals. Looking at Thoreau’s experience and holding it up with his writings on the philosophy of civil disobedience is hypocrisy. This hypocrisy that is shown by not experiencing the response in any meaningful way. Civil Disobedience is a work that everyone should read, that has much to offer despite the inconsistency of its author’s…
Mahatma Gandhi once said, ”Civil disobedience is not only the natural right of people, especially when they have no effective voice in their own government, but that it is also a substitute for violence or armed rebellion.” Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of influencing legislation or government policy, characterized by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes. I believe that civil disobedience is an effective way to change unjust laws or make social change. I believe that it is effective because civil disobedience is a way to protest without breaking the law, it gets results, and civil disobedience can attract attention to the issue or problem.…
In the articles: “Resistance to Civil Government” by Henry David Thoreau, “On Nonviolent Resistance” by Gandhi, and “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” by Martin Luther King, each makes a strong case for civil disobedience. The term “civil disobedience” refers to any nonviolent resistance to a governing authority on moral grounds. Thoreau, Gandhi, and King each argues in his own way that when the rights of a minority or an individual are ignored by any government, it is incumbent upon all who recognize this injustice to defy any laws instituted by that government which contribute to the resulting inequality. Thoreau’s argument is more philosophical; he posits more generally that governmental laws lull individuals into a kind of moral apathy, and that any rule of government is a poor substitute for individual conscience. The stance of Gandhi and King rises out of…
Civil disobedience is a force needed to purify the condemnation of injustices within a society. Civil disobedience can be defined as the refusal to comply with certain laws as a peaceful form of political protest. Such protests are needed when the rights of citizens are being violated and their voices are being unheard. Thoreau’s ideas were becoming heavily common as they were being used by Civil Rights Activists. These ideas which these activists used greatly affected the way our government now functions today. What if such actions did not take place and only the voices of inequality were heard? Would we not still remain in a society of injustice? ((Rhetorical question))…