Civil Disobedience

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces, discusses, and analyzes the topic of Henry David Thoreau's civil disobedience statement. Specifically this persuasive essay attempts to persuade the reader to agree with Thoreau's statement that asserts, "Resist what your conscience cannot support, even if you are in the minority."

From the Paper:

"Thoreau himself stood up against the government in his own act of civil disobedience when he wrote this essay. He refused to pay government taxes, which he felt, went to support the army fighting the War with Mexico, which he did not support. He ended up in jail for non-payment of taxes, and wrote this essay as a result. Civil disobedience occurs today, and as long as Americans enjoy freedom, it will continue to occur - because it can. Those who opposed civil disobedience oppose the right to speak out freely and protest what is wrong in society and government. In addition, there are some cases that are so clearly wrong that civil disobedience is justified, such as the civil rights movement, which was clearly a wrong that needed to be righted immediately. Sometimes, the importance of a situation cannot be ignored, and civil disobedience may be the only way to convince the masses that a bad situation must be overturned and made right. While not everyone may agree with the protest, they must agree that it is a right and a freedom to commit the protest, and without that right, Americans would be living in a dictatorial state little better than any number of dictatorships in the world today."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Markovits, Daniel. "Democratic Disobedience." Yale Law Journal 114.8 (2005): 1897+.
• Thoreau, Henry David. The Major Essays of Henry David Thoreau. Ed. Richard Dillman. Albany, NY: Whitston Publishing, 2001.

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