Resistance To Civil Government Summary

When Protesting Against an Unjust Government Without a job, without a source of income, without a way to provide oneself with the necessities, how would one survive in life? Henry David Thoreau states in his essay, “Resistance to Civil Government,” that the appropriate reaction to an unjust government is to break the law if the government violates the moral human law. Actually, this thought of rebelling against the government came from the night Thoreau was jailed for not paying taxes to the state. Thoreau did not support the Mexican-American war and disliked the fact that the government supported slavery. Since he broke the law, he was forced to stay overnight in jail. Thoreau believed that if the law violated the human conscience,

Whatever actions he did affected only him. Thoreau never married, and he did not have to carry the responsibilities a married man might have. This situation was certainly not the same as a man who has a wife or even children to provide for. During Thoreau’s time, women held positions such as taking care of the children and being a role model to them. In short, a woman did not hold a job which offered an income to live on. That responsibility fell solely on the husband. The family would only be able to live on that money alone for the day to day life necessities. Endangering one’s job as a result of rebelling or revolutionizing against the government would greatly impact life negatively. Thoreau’s life differed very much from a normal family

Losing one’s job would have a negative impact on a progressing society. During Thoreau’s time, society was advancing and becoming more modernized. These developments included building the railroad and incorporating trains. Encouraging workers to break the law would hurt the lives of those employees as they could find themselves out of work. Those people would find it challenging to afford for their living situation. How could a common man who lived among others and had other individuals to support for, pay for necessities like food, water, or shelter without a steady income? Also, having to leave one’s position as a result of breaking the law to resist the government, could influence additional people to do the same, causing companies to eventually go out of business due to lack of employment. Breaking the law to resist a dishonest government may fulfill personal human moral obligations, but other areas such as job, family, and living situation would suffer in turn. Thoreau’s solution will not work in a society based on labor and profit. Even if the point was to protest against an unfair government, the negative outcomes outbalance the positive