Thoreau was once sent to jail for refusing to pay his taxes and I support this episode of civil disobedience as justified. Thoreau did not pay his taxes because he objected the use of the revenue to finance the Mexican War and enforcement of slavery laws. He did not request for his money to be used for the enforcement of slavery laws, therefore felt he had the right to protest and act out civil disobedience. Paul Harris defines civil disobedience as "an illegal, public, nonviolent, conscientiously motivated act of protest, done by someone who accepts the legitimacy of the legal and political systems and who submits to arrest and punishment" (2). Before I supported his civil disobedience, I opted to see if it was justified.
For Thoreau's arrest to be an act of civil dis
For acts of civil disobedience to be justified, those acts need to be acts of protest. Thoreau desired a change in the law and the political system, so he attempted to change a flaw in the governmental law. He demanded to stay arrested and protest in hopes of a change in the law. He was not concern that he was released, but that his disobedience had an affect. This further justifies his disobedience.
I support Henry David Thoreau's disobedient act against paying taxes. He did not want his money to be use in a way he did not desire. Standing up for what you believe in and being disobedient does not necessary mean committing an illegal act. It can change the law to better suit society. People practicing civil disobedience break a law because they consider the law unjust, and want to call
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