Henry David Thoreau's Act Of Civil Disobedience

Henry David Thoreau committed a crime in the name of civil disobedience and thus for such disobedience was imprisoned. Henry David Thoreau took a stand for what he believed, his sacrifice was significant for these 3 reasons. First, Mr. Thoreau had strong moral values which made him oppose slavery and the Mexican American war. Secondly, Thoreau’s act of civil disobedience was a powerful statement in which he peacefully refused to pay his poll tax. Finally, Mr. Thoreau willingly accepted the consequences of his actions in order to prove his point. Civil disobedience is “the refusal to obey or comply with certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of influencing legislation or government policy, characterized by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as a peaceful form of political protest [such] as boycotting, picketing [or not paying] taxes and fines”(Dictionary). Henry David Thoreau broke the law by not paying his taxes but the motive behind his “crime” is comprehensible. Thoreau being a good humanitarian opposed the injustices being committed against the less fortunate and made sure his money was not being used to glorify and expand the horrible atrocities of war and slavery.

Thoreau strongly opposes slavery and the Mexican American war due to his strong moral values. These values enable Thoreau to put others suffering before his, which results in him not paying his taxes which were going to be used to support slavery and the Mexican American war. In the essay, “Civil Disobedience”, Thoreau openly opposes the Mexican American war, proclaiming that it is an evil that is promoting “manifest destiny”, in order to obtain more land. “Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure." (Henry David Thoreau in Civil