Essay on The Political Thinking and Influence of Henry...

The Political Thinking and Influence of Henry David Thoreau The extent and nature of Henry David Thoreau’s commitment to social reform has long been a matter of debate among scholars. Drawing on his well-know disdain for organized politics and his focus of self-reform, some have observed that Thoreau was no social reformer (Goodwin 157). On the other hand, such major anti-slavery statements as Civil Disobedience, Slavery in Massachusetts, and A Plea for Captain John Brown, have been seen as evidence that Thoreau was deeply engaged in the most important moral and political issues or his time (Harding 418). How can Thoreau the solipsistic hermit for whom the government is best which governs not at all, (Thoreau 1792) be†¦show more content†¦Recognizing that the slave power had now become aggressively active and threatened to dominate the entire Union (Gougeon 201), Thoreau decided to withdraw his support from a government which allowed this to happen, stating: I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my g overnment which is the slaves government also (1794). As a result of not paying his poll tax, Thoreau was arrested on July 25th, 1846 (Rosenwald 154). His essay, Civil Disobedience, originally delivered before the Concord Lyceum in January of 1848 as a speech entitled The Rights and Duties of the Individual in Relation to Government (Gougeon 201), expresses the various political circumstances and convictions which culminated in Thoreaus now famous, and very influential, one night sojourn in the Concord Jail. In order to better understand Thoreaus stance towards the State in Civil Disobedience, it is important to understand something of his universal view: As Richard Drinnon observes, The kernel of Thoreaus politics was his belief in a natural or higher law (127). Transcendentalism, to which Thoreau subscribed, is characterized by a belief in moral and other universal truths, and a faith in the individuals ability to intuit those truths (Abrams 326). Thoreau, in particular, believed that the individual discerned those truths or moral laws throughShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Henry David Thoreaus Civil Disobedience1432 Words   |  6 Pages Civil Disobedience or originally known as â€Å"Resistance to Civil Government† is one of the most known essay written by Henry David Thoreau. Published in 1866, it was written shortly after Thoreau spent one night in jail due to not paying a poll tax. 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