Civil Disobedience: The Similarities Between Thoreau And Gandhi

First things first, this comparison essay is between Henry David Thoreau and Gandhi. Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts. He was an American essayist, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, and historian. He started writing nature poetry in the 1840’s, with poet Ralph Waldo Emerson as a mentor. Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India. “He was the leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.” Gandhi had more of an impact on people than Thoreau because “his death left all

The answer is that in the article Mahatma Gandhi Assassinated, it states that he preached a philosophy of nonviolence and civil disobedience (the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. In Civil Disobedience by Thoreau, he also agrees with civil disobedience. They both used nonviolence when they protested, Gandhi used peaceful protesting to help the lives of Indians from the British rule. Thoreau refused to pay poll taxes to protest against slavery and an unjust government. They also both went to jail for protesting for what they thought was right. Even though Thoreau and Gandhi are somewhat similar. There are some differences between these two people, though, they protested for their causes in different ways. Gandhi “in the early 1920s, led a boycott of British goods and campaign of non-cooperation. And in 1930, he protested Britain’s tax on salt by leading a 250-mile Salt March. Thoreau on the other hand used a different method, he refused to pay poll taxes and he dissociated himself from the government. They both went to jail for what they thought was right, Thoreau only spent the night in jail, but Gandhi went to jail for two