Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience."

"Civil Disobedience" is a very long essay. There are three parts, which in my opinion is more of a paper or lengthy composition, on Henry David Thoreau's opinion on the government's control of people's life and how the people have the right and the ability to stand up to their beliefs (Thoreau Part 2). Thanks to my extensive knowledge of this time period due to (what turns out to be a very beneficial decision) AP United States History, I can understand Henry David Thoreau's reasoning behind his very opinionated thoughts. The essay was written in the year 1849 (Thoreau). This was a turbulent time in American history. Issues that led to the start of the American Civil were starting during this time. The Mexican American War and issues over slavery were dividing the country sectionally into the North and South, not the United States (Divine). Henry David Thoreau did not believe in slavery and was an abolitionist (Graves). When the United States government was considering allowing the newly conquered Mexican territory to be slave territories and states, Thoreau was not pleased (Divine). His home state of Massachusetts still recognized slavery and nothing was being done to abolish or at least recognize the inhumanity of the practice of slavery (Thoreau Part 1). To protest the ignorance of the issue of slavery, Henry David Thoreau did not pay state taxes and was arrested and placed in jail for one night (Gates). Using that experience, Thoreau came to the conclusion if "one HONEST man, in this State of Massachusetts, ceasing to hold slaves, were actually to withdraw from this copartnership, and be locked up in the county jail therefor, it would be the abolition of slavery in America" (Thoreau Part 2). Unfortunately that proved untrue, and the nation went to a civil war to solve that issue.

Henry David Thoreau's essay is a prime example of Transcendentalism writing because the entire essay is about self reliance and "rejecting authority" (Werlock). Henry David Thoreau actively encourages American citizens to rise up and make a difference (Thoreau Part 1). Alas, very few people take his advice and because change and compromise can not be reached regarding the issue of slavery (only pushed back farther with the Missouri Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas and Nebraska Acts) and Thoreau has "imagined, but not yet anywhere seen" a change in Massachusetts or in the United States of America (Thoreau Part 3). The only actions that were taken was to argue with someone with an opposing view, but not compromise on anything that would make a difference, only prolong the issue so that someone else can take care of it for you (Divine). Another Transcendentalist trait of the "Civil Disobedience" essay is that man is self reliant and independent (Werlock). By following the words of Henry David Thoreau, if a man decides to stick up for his point of view, in this case an abolitionist sticking up for anti-slavery and new territories being free, not slave areas, then he will be all the better for it (Thoreau Part 3). After all, "the individual as the basis of the empire" (Thoreau Part 3).


Divine, Robert A., T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, H. W. Brands, and Ariela J. Gross. America Past and Present AP Edition. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.

Graves, Roy Neil. "'Civil Disobedience'." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.

Thoreau, Henry David. "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience." The Thoreau Reader. Richard Lenat. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "transcendentalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.