Blog 5: Thoreau

Henry Thoreau has some very interesting beliefs about the American government. He believes that there is no justice in American government. He agrees with a government who does not govern at all. Therefore, he is against a democratic government.

According to Thoreau when the government is wrong it is up to the individual to make sure that they do not support them in any way. He made an example of it using war. He talked about how people applaud the soldier who refuses to fight in the war, but they do not refuse the government who makes the war. (Thoreau 143) He believes that people may be against the war, but they continue to support it indirectly. An alternative for this would be not paying taxes, but that is breaking the law. This leads to Thoreau's next thought.

Thoreau believed that if a law caused you to be unjust to another than you should break the law. He feels that "under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison". (Thoreau 146) If the people break laws as rebellion against them being unjust, this will eventually start to make an influence. A perfect example of this would be the actions of Rosa Parks. She felt that the bus laws were unjust, so one day she decided that she was not going to abide by them. Even though she went to jail, she started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which caused laws to be changed for African Americans. As Thoreau believes, it is the responsibility of the people to stand up to the government when the laws are unjust.

Works Cited
Thoreau, Henry.”Civil Disobedience”.A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus.7th ed.New York:Bedford/St Martin’s, 2006.pp 137-157