Thoreau declared that if the government required people to participate in injustice by obeying “unjust laws,” then people should “
break the laws
” even if they ended up in prison. “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly,” he asserted, “the true place for a just man is also a prison.”
What did Thoreau want people to do?
He succinctly explains his motivations in chapter 2: I went to the woods because
I wished to live deliberately
, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
What did Thoreau believe about laws?
In his essay Thoreau argued that not all laws are just, but as human beings
it is more important to obey natural law over civil law
. Natural law is a set of laws that are not written down, but are inscribed in the back of ones mind. These are the laws that steer a person’s morality.
Who does Thoreau believe is to blame for injustice?
Thoreau argues that the United States’ invasion of Mexico is immoral and that
Americans who support the government with their person (as soldiers) or property (through taxes)
are complicit in that injustice. He would further say that a person should go to jail rather than be responsible for that invasion.
What type of government does Thoreau want?
How does Thoreau define the best possible kind of government? Thoreau envisions the best kind of government as on that does not govern. He supports
laissez-faire (free enterprise, free trade, noninterfering)
.
What does Thoreau consider the most effective way of expressing his displeasure with the government?
Thoreau considers
civil disobedience
one of the most effective ways of expressing his displeasure with the government. Civil disobedience, as the name suggests, is the active disregard and breaking of a government rule when a private citizen believes it is unnecessary or even against society’s best interests.
What does Thoreau tell us about life now?
Thoreau believed that
to live life to its fullest, people needed to simplify
, to get rid of unnecessary material possessions and even unnecessary socializing. This way, a person would be able to better connect with the universe around him and learn the secrets of existence.
What does Thoreau think of most people’s lives?
In Thoreau’s view, what kind of lives do most people live? They
lead lives of quiet desperation
. The first sentence of this excerpt from Walden is a well-known aphorism, or statement commenting on life. “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.
What is Thoreau’s philosophy of life?
Thoreau’s philosophy says that
value is not inherently monetary and can be found anywhere
, especially in the beauty of the natural world. One who adopts Thoreau’s philosophies for beauty and value will inherently stand at odds with some of the ideals of society, pushing luxury and money.
What does Thoreau suggest is worse than disobeying an unjust law?
He disagreed with other American people who believed
the majority should change the law first
because it is a worse thing to disobey the law than to do what an unjust law says to do. Thoreau wrote that breaking the unjust laws is better: “Break the law. … However, Thoreau did not think people should be criminals.
What were his feelings about the government while he was in jail?
How did his imprisonment affect his feelings about the government?
He refused to pay his poll tax. In jail he lost respect for the state.
… People would live by their own rules without regard for the law, and no one person or group would have control.
Why does Thoreau compare the government to a machine?
Thoreau compares the government, or “state,” to a machine
to highlight how the government can cause individuals to ignore their own conscience and become complicit in immoral acts
. They become part of a machine that “produces” slavery and warfare.
What Thoreau thinks about government?
Thoreau argued that
the government must end its unjust actions to earn the right to collect taxes from its citizens
. As long as the government commits unjust actions, he continued, conscientious individuals must choose whether to pay their taxes or to refuse to pay them and defy the government.
What does Thoreau say the government is supposed to do?
Thoreau says that
government does not, in fact, achieve that with which we credit it
: it does not keep the country free, settle the West, or educate. … A government founded on this principle cannot be based on justice.
What does Thoreau say is the best type of government?
The phrase “
that government is best which governs least
” is often credited to Henry David Thoreau, in his 1849 “Civil Disobedience,” or “Resistance to Civil Government.” (It’s also sometimes credited to Thomas Jefferson or John Locke, but although it might capture well some of their thinking, to my knowledge it doesn’t …
Why did Henry Thoreau write Civil Disobedience?
Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience
to justify not paying his taxes, for which he was put in jail
. He refused to pay his taxes to protest two injustices he believed were perpetrated by the United States government: slavery and the war against Mexico.
