Thoreau on Civil Disobediance

A detailed Summary of Thoreau on Civil Disobediance

Henry David Thoreau's basis for objecting to the government was very well thought-out, as he details three main tenets in opposing an unjust government. He starts out by stating the individual duties each person has as a mere citizen, as a good neighbor. Things such as maintaining your humanity and conscience are key, he says. Then, he outlines what people should do in response to government injustices, mainly in the form of civil disobedience and not partaking in unjust government practices. Finally, Thoreau speaks about his own experiences with civil disobedience and what he has seen of it. Speaking about his time in jail, he talks about how he has tried to follow his own moral code instead. Overall, he stresses much importance on the individual and individual action, and the effect of immediate action from the minority. Therefore, Thoreau's main point in Civil Disobedience is for the individual to immediately do what he thinks is right in a moral sense, even if it involves opposing the government.

The first part of his essay details what duties people have as good neighbors, not just as mere objects of the government. People should not resign their consciences over to the government he says,

Thoreau was very big on respecting those that were governed, and stated that that would only happen if people first realized what it took to be a good neighbor and to treat those around you with respect. Then, they would know what the necessary action to be taken was in trying to amend an unjust government and do just that. Thoreau then says he has tried to follow just that, and that even though he was just one man, even the smallest beginnings wouldn't go unnoticed and that he was trying to make some sort of impact with his moral actions. Part of that included his not waiting for the majority to be on his side, ("any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one") and acting immediately and morally when he saw an injustice. That then, was the basis of his reasons and remedies for an unjust government.

His idea involves civil disobedience, in order to avoid bloodshed and yet still get the point across. Voting is not enough, he says, as it doesn't remedy the problem but merely express the desire that it should be remedied. And the majority should especially not be the deciding factor, since the majority will only do what is right for them, or merely vote along political lines, and will not use individual action in the matter. Unjust laws do exist, and it is only the minority that will be able to point them out. However, the government will not let them point it out, being that it does not encourage improvement within itself from a small outside group. In that case, a person has to ask himself if the injustice is a small "friction of the machine of the government", or if it actually does injustice to another person. If the latter is the case, then the law should be broken and remedied. Not by the state's way, however, as it is simply too tedious. The proper thing to do, which abolitionists should be doing now, is to simply have nothing to do with the evil itself-if you cannot remedy it, do not participate in it. Thoreau tries this himself, being that he only interacts with government annually during tax time, but even then he quarrels with the tax collector to show his disapproval, one form of letting his opinions be heard. Finally, as some would not defy the government because th

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Approximate Word count = 1496
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History