Thoreau says that citizens do not act against unjust laws , because they fear that the “remedy is worse than the evil.” By this, he implies that private citizens do not protest through civil disobedience and other measures, because without the support of majority rule, they fear the consequences.
What does Thoreau mean when he says he refuses to sit on another man’s shoulders?
What does Thoreau mean when he says he refuses to sit on another man’s shoulders? He refuses to support inequality. He refuses to benefit from injustice directed toward others.
Why does it cry and resist before it is hurt Meaning?
Prov. Do not be upset about a bad thing that might happen ; only be upset when something bad really does happen.
What is the purpose of Henry David Resistance to Civil Government?
Henry David Thoreau’s purpose in writing “resistance to civil government” was to explain the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws . In his essay, Thoreau explains that governments are typically more harmful than helpful and therefore cannot be justified.
What does Thoreau mean when he says the government has not the vitality and force of a single living man for a single man can bend it to his will?
It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will. It’s not that he believes there should be no government but that there must be “a better government.” He believes that conscience should prevail over law.
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.
Is it right to break an unjust law?
No society, whether free or tyrannical, can give its citizens the right to break its laws: To ask it to do so is to ask it to proclaim, as a matter of law, that its laws are not laws. ... And this moral right is not an unlimited right to disobey any law which one regards as unjust.
What was Thoreau’s view on slavery quizlet?
What was Thoreau’s view on slavery? Slavery is a moral evil that should be eliminated .
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 are the two government policies Thoreau most objects to?
When writing “Civil Disobedience,” the two government policies Thoreau most objected to were slavery and the Mexican-American War.
What is the main idea of resistance to civil government?
In his essay, “Resistance to Civil Government,” often times dubbed, “Civil Disobedience,” Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) argues against abiding to one’s State, in protest to the unjust laws within its government .
What did Thoreau believe?
Thoreau’s attitude toward reform involved his transcendental efforts to live a spiritually meaningful life in nature. As a transcendentalist, Thoreau believed that reality existed only in the spiritual world, and the solution to people’s problems was the free development of emotions (“Transcendentalism”).
Why does Henry David Thoreau argue for Civil Disobedience?
Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience espouses the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws . ... He presents his own experiences as a model for how to relate to an unjust government: In protest of slavery, Thoreau refused to pay taxes and spent a night in jail.
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 if a plant Cannot live according to its nature it dies and so a man mean?
If a plant cannot live according to its nature, it dies; and so a man. He chooses the metaphor of a dying plant to show readers he is discussing matters of life and death .
