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Civil Disobedience, Mandela, And Henry David Thoreau

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In the world there are rules, acts that many people did not like. Thoreau, Gandhi, and Mandela were the ones to find an effective way to make people realize what was going on at the time with the acts. Everyone has had to stand up for what they knew was right. Henry David Thoreau was well known for his quote “give me liberty or give me death.” Of course, before the quote he was also known for protesting over that nature is the key to everything. Nature is the only way to live free in liberty. “The government is best which govern not at all,” Thoreau stated. To this Thoreau wanted a government that had no control over the people, indicating that the government were then people. But he also supported that you must only get what you need not what
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What makes a government and society moral and just has been a reoccurring question and issue throughout time. Henry David Thoreau, an American transcendentalist, stressed civil disobedience and greatly showed his disbeliefs on the Mexican-American War in his essay, “Resistance to Civil Government.” Through comparing the nation's political authority to a machine and not paying his taxes as a method of protest, Thoreau manages to coax the “true citizen” to stand up against unjust government. Martin Luther King, an American Baptist minister and activist, was a leader and an important part of the African-American Civil rights movement. He fought for black rights and stood up against authorities unjust treatment of his fellow black brothers and sisters.

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Thoreau believes that government should be lenient with their people and work with them for their common good, Gale actions as an individual shows that he agrees. In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau explains his belief that the government should be tolerant. He explains, “[He] heartily accepts the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least’

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One idea from Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience that can be applied to life and society today is the prospect of not allowing Government to have absolute control in your life, and don’t let it manipulate you. Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience while being imprisoned for something he viewed as incorrect. Whilst in prison, he unloaded his resentment to the government into this story. He encourages everyone to have their own sets of views, and regardless of what the Government says is true or not, stick to your personal views. In a quote from Civil Disobedience, Thoreau says, “Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect…”

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Throughout history there have been many political changes that are either supported, or not, by citizens. In the given passage from, "Civil Disobedience," by Thoreau, a perspective of disagreeing with the government ways, is provided. Thoreau explains how a government should be in comparison to how it really is by utilizing his words to set the tone and mode, imagery to achieve his audience's understanding, and diction to make his writing scholarly. Although tone and mode are not directly stated, you can infer that Thoreau meant for his writing to be taken as serious and powerful. His implementation of words such as, "inexpedient," "execute," " integrity," and "command," makes one think about their lawful rights and reflect on what rights are supported or

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Mr. Thoreau argues that people should not allow any government to control or atrophy their thoughts or beliefs. Mr. Thoreau was an also remained a devoted abolitionist and has written

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Individuals lay the foundation of America. The Founding Fathers of this unique nation broke their allegiance with Great Britain to create an improved governing body. They desired an individual-centered authority as opposed to Britain’s monarchy, which ruled with tyranny. These Founding Fathers experienced a neglectful democratic monarchy that cared little about the ethical treatment of its people. The domineering actions of Britain challenged these historic individuals to form a new cultural identity.

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Thoreau was best known for his philosophical work- Walden. As far as his philosophies went, Thoreau was an avid transcendentalist, meaning he generally believed in a natural altruism within the individual, making the church and state mostly unneeded. These beliefs lead him to vocalize his opinions about unrest in the government. He believed the people should strive to overtake an unjust governmental body, so much so that he was sometimes considered an anarchist, though this doesn't seem to be the case. Thoreau believed in a simple manner of living and encouraged reflection upon oneself and upon nature, which he also wrote about in a rather romanticized style (he was also a poet and author).

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Thoreau was a nonviolent protestor (Mott). Meaning that he never harmed nobody or vandalized state property. Another one of his quotes

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Thoreau mentions the Abolitionists, the people fighting slavery, should actually withdraw their support of government. Thoreau encourages the citizens to refuse to pay taxes used for immoral purposes. At this time, that purpose was slavery. Thoreau did not reject all government, saying, “I have never declined paying the highway tax, because I am as desirous of being a good neighbor as I am of being a bad subject; and as for supporting schools.” This quote shows that Thoreau does support being taxed for good reasons, such as improving infrastructure or schools.

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He was not against all government; all Thoreau wanted and hoped for was his personal freedom without government and bureaucracy overstepping its boundaries. Some readers might view him as a sort of libertarian. He stood for protected individual rights for both individuals and government interference. But he also understood that without any government the country would be in complete and utter chaos, and he did not support that idea. Thoreau wanted the minimal government interference that was needed to keep a society efficient and calm.

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Throughout all of time, people have needed to live according to their own agendas. Being forced to live a certain way has only caused trouble. That is why Henry David Thoreau supported civil disobedience to help people live according to their own beliefs. In the essay “On Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau, the author defined and explained the effect of civil disobedience. Thoreau defined it as, civil disobedience is any peaceful action that demonstrates the disagreement of a person or persons with their government.

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Gandhi talked about Gandhi and Thoreau are recognize how both talked against the

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What Thoreau means by the Civil Disobedience is that every person should be govern more by his own moral compass that gives him much clearer answer to his deeds, rather than some laws of a government. “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think we should be men first, and subjects afterward.” (1)

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You can’t walk in the woods and see a leaf that doesn’t quite know if it wants to fall to the ground or stay on the tree. Thoreau noticed this, and thought that if people could be decisive in the same way that nature was, then they could “live deep and suck out all the marrow of life… live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put as to put to rout all that was not life… cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner…” (Walden 771) This is something that Thoreau highly valued. He wanted to live as his own person, which was, in his mind, best accomplished by living in nature and not being involved with the government.

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This citation shows that Thoreau did not want to follow the laws. Thoreau also believed in living life by following moral law and not law stated in the constitution. Thoreau also believed that the government does best if it does not rule over the people. In the essay Civil Disobedience it says “That government is best which governs least”. This shows what Thoreau felt the government should not do.

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