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Background /. Type of Work and Publication "Civil Disobedience" is an essay that attempts to persuade readers to oppose unjust government policies in general and the Mexican War and the institution of slavery in particular. Thoreau presented the essay as a lecture in 1848 and published it 1849 under the title "Resistance to Civil Government." In 1866, four years after Thoreau died, the essay was published under the title "Civil Disobdience," a title under which it is published today in most literature books. Point of View Thoreau uses first-person point of view. Issues Discussed Thoreau says it is the duty of all citizens to disobey unjust government policies. They should express their opposition through acts of civil disobedience, such as refusing to pay taxes. Thoreau cites two examples of unjust U.S. government policies: the continuation of the institution of slavery and the prosecution of the Mexican War (April 1846-February 1848). Themes (1) Citizens of good conscience should actively oppose unjust government policies through nonviolent resistance, such as refusal to pay taxes. They should even be willing to go to jail rather than yield to immoral or unethical government laws and activities. (2) Slavery is an evil institution that must be abolished. (3) The Mexican War is an unjust conflict because it is being fought to acquire new territory in which to establish slavery. (4) Talk means little unless action backs it up. Saying you are against an unjust government policy does nothing to eliminate that policy. But backing your words up with action–action that may impose hardship on you–will yield results. (5) Citizens must oppose efforts by groups that promote their own selfish interests at the expense of morality, ethics, and individual rights. Thoreau's Moral Philosophy as an Expression of Transcendentalism Thoreau believed every human being has inborn knowledge that enables him to recognize and understand moral truth without benefit of knowledge obtained through the physical senses. Using this inborn knowledge, an individual can make a moral decision without relying on information gained through everyday living, education, and experimentation. One may liken this inborn knowledge to conscience or intuition. Thoreau and others who believed that this inborn knowledge served as a moral guiding force were known as transcendentalists–that is, they believed that this inner knowledge was a higher, transcendent form of knowledge than that which came through the senses. Because Thoreau and his fellow transcendentalists trusted their own inner light as a moral guiding force, they were possessed of a fierce spirit of self-reliance. They were individualists; they liked to make decisions for themselves. If the government adopted a policy or a law that offended their consciences, they generally reacted strongly. “Civil Disobedience” expresses Thoreau’s reaction and measured response to government dictums that legitimized slavery and the Mexican War. Transcendentalism, as Thoreau’s moral philosophy was called, did not originate with him or his fellow transcendentalists in New England but with the German philosopher Emanuel Kant. He used the word transcendental to refer to intuitive or innate knowledge–knowledge which is a priori rather than a posteriori. Thoreau's Influence on Others The principles discussed in “Civil Disobedience” have influenced defenders of human rights throughout the world. Among them were Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi (1869-1948), the great Indian leader. Using ideas promoted in Hindu and Christian philosophy, as well as tactics espoused by Thoreau and Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, Gandhi led a successful campaign of passive resistance in South Africa between 1896 and 1914 to obtain civil rights for immigrants from India. But rather than terming his philosophy of peaceful agitation either civil disobedience or passive resistance, he called it satyagraha (pronounced SAHT ya GRUH ha), a Hindi (Indo-Aryan language) word via sanskrit (old Indo-European language). This word means “grasping for truth” or “attachment to truth.” In effect, this philosophy asked its followers to endure suffering, instead of causing it, to achieve its aims. After World War I, Gandhi returned to his native India to lead a movement against British rule of that country, enlisting millions of supporters in a nonviolent movement that resulted in Indian independence. This campaign earned him the title of “Father of India” and a lasting place in history as one of the 20th Century’s greatest leaders. His ideas–and the ideas of Thoreau–profoundly influenced the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his successful nonviolent campaign in the 1960's to achieve civil rights for black Americans. In his autobiography, King wrote, “No other person has been more eloquent and passionate in getting this idea [passive resistance to injustice] across than Henry David Thoreau. As a result of his writings and personal witness, we are the heirs of a legacy of creative protest." Author Information Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Mass., on July 12, 1817. After graduating from Harvard University in 1837, he taught school but quit after a few weeks, then worked for a short while for his father, a pencil-maker. In 1838, he returned to teaching but by the early 1840's had decided to pursue writing as a career and began turning out essays and poetry. His most famous work is Walden; or Life in the Woods (1854), which recounts his experiences living alone in a cabin he built at Walden Pond near Concord.
Summary of the Essay
.......The
best government is one with severely limited powers. It should use its
powers only to carry out moral and ethical activities on behalf of the
citizens. Unfortunately, factions of powerful self-interest groups sometimes
manipulate the government into carrying out actions that offend the conscience
of upright citizens.
.......In carrying out penalties such as the one imposed upon me, the state uses force, not reason, to deal with citizens. I answer only to the force of a higher power. .......My cellmate was a man accused of burning down a barn, but he claimed he was innocent. From what he told me, it appeared he was drunk when he went into the barn to bed down. When he smoked his pipe, the barn caught fire. .......A lot of men wrote verses while biding their time in the jail. Many of them tried to escape but were caught. To get revenge, the prisoners sang their verses. .......After I blew out the lamp and went to bed, I stayed up for a while listening to the town clock strike and the sounds of the village coming in through the open windows. In the morning, I had a breakfast of brown bread and a pint of chocolate on a tin tray passed through an opening in the door. Later, I was released after someone paid my tax. The first thing I did was to finish an errand I had started the previous day–I was going to the shoemaker’s to have a shoe repaired–but could not complete because of my arrest. After putting on my mended shoe, I went out with a local group to pick huckleberries on top of a high hill two miles off. In this pastoral setting, the state was nowhere to be seen. .......One tax that I always pay is the highway tax, for I want to be a good neighbor. .......I do not wish to give you the idea that I am looking to quarrel with other citizens or with the country. In fact, I would like to abide by the laws of the country. But I cannot abide by them when they are unjust laws and when the leaders who make them override the rights of upright individuals guided by their consciences.
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