Civil Disobedience analysis

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:History

Document 1

He also had other writers who introduced him to transcendentalism which is a philosophy central to Thoreau. Throughout the life of Thoreau’s, he emphasized the importance of individuality and self-reliance. He used to practice civil disobedience an aspect that sent him to jail many times. He never wanted to pay taxes for his country because he believed that the government was failing in delivering his duties. Most of the things that used to affect America during Thoreau’s life was the slavery and the war that involved America and Mexico. The domestic conflict that involved the Americans and also Mexicans also brought some changes to the American government. The cause of the war was due to the difference in boundaries.

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The American government was in need of expanding their territory through Mexico which brought conflict between the conflicts later. Some of the Americans believed that it was their Manifest Destiny to get all the land they could. The united states gained much of the land through seizing in the southwest. He was jailed for failing to pay the taxes but later, a friend came and paid the tax for him and he was released the next day. Thoreau also introduced the right to the revolution which was recognized by all men. It usually reflected on American revolution that was morally compelling as it never focused on the issues that were at hand. Through the revolution, Thoreau urged rebellion against the government as he believed that the only way to make the government change the way it used to operate is by rebelling.

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He felt that as a man, one does not have to compile with everything that is happening if he sees a mistake in it, a man must be of principal even though it means of breaking of the law. They are events that need specific reactions that depend on the situation. Actually, they form an acknowledgement that examines the matters of conscience. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that becomes influential to the Americans due to its deep meaning (Thoreau, 2016). It rejected the idea that the knowledge can be fully expected by just observing and also through the simple experiences that people have concerning the physical world. An individual should be able to focus and think through his or her own feeling. He believes that it better to have respect on what is right than respecting what is wrong because it is a law.

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This is because, if people respect the law much they end becoming unjust. He gives an example of the soldiers who follow the orders and the law and end up forgetting their humanity (Thoreau, 2014). The soldiers do not have any part to exercise their moral sense, they just do want they have been assigned to do without a consideration of whether it wrong or right. They solder to end up being called the most loyal and good citizens yet they participate in some work that is unjust to people. Thoreau says that everyone should take it as a task and fight for his or her country for the sake of future generation. Work cited Thoreau, Henry David. Civil disobedience. Broadview Press, 2016.

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