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    On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
    On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
    On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
    Ebook6 pages1 minute

    On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

    By Henry David Thoreau

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateMar 1, 1995
    Author

    Henry David Thoreau

    Henry Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1817, and attended Concord Academy and Harvard. After a short time spent as a teacher, he worked as a surveyor and a handyman, sometimes employed by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Between 1845 and 1847 Thoreau lived in a house he had made himself on Emerson's property near to Walden Pond. During this period he completed A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and wrote the first draft of Walden, the book that is generally judged to be his masterpiece. He died of tuberculosis in 1862, and much of his writing was published posthumously.

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    Reviews for On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

    4/5

    259 ratings17 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A wonderful, thoughtful essay. Everyone should read this.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful, thoughtful essay. Everyone should read this.
    • 1/5
      Horse shit! Thoreau uses his opposition to slavery as a reason to pick and choose what laws and what taxes he's amenable to. He was just a cheap bastard who didn't want to pay taxes, who thought he knew better than anyone else. What a crock!
    • 1/5
      This was absolutely horrible. I don't know what I was expecting but the author was overblown and completely annoying.
    • 2/5
      Ugh, not the best for me to read, but that's me.
    • 3/5
      It was good to re-read. It dispelled some rumored happenings in the life of Thoreau (though, to be sure, he payed have been jailed multiple times for failure to pay his taxes), but brought back into my mind his abolitionist stand.I do not fully comprehend what he meant by improving government by refusing participation in it, but I suspect we are beyond that possibility now, in any case.
    • 4/5
      A bit of a rebel, our Henry!This must have taken some courage to produce in nineteenth century America. It is easy for us now to decry slavery when every right minded person agrees but, respect to Mr T. for doing so at the time.
    • 3/5
      “There are thousands who are in opinion opposed to slavery and to the war, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them; who, esteeming themselves children of Washington and Franklin, sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say that they know not what to do, and do nothing.”

      Reading this is worth it, purely for some of the quotations alone. Startlingly relevant and a call to arms, Thoreau asks us to question what is legal (or written as law) vs. what is right, and if they are the same. If they're not, what can we do to change the legislation so that we are can align the law, and the government with our consciences.

      Of course, Thoreau was privileged, and his position, power and education allow him to ponder these issues -- in some cases, they are not his lived experience. And yet it was refreshing to see someone in this time and context protest war and protest slavery. "They were a product of their time" is an excuse I hear a lot, and it's a tired one.

      I found this really easy to read and while I didn't understand a lot of the finer points (this would be interesting to discuss in a classroom setting) I enjoyed it nonetheless.

    • 5/5
      Times change but the relevancy of this work has not.
    • 4/5
      This is a very interesting read. Though the language can seem a bit old and hard to get through and understand the message is important and rings out loud and clear. Many people are content to sit around and wait for the right thing to happen but in order for the right the to happen there must be action. If laws are unjust it is your duty to break those laws. So many people forget the actions of the founders of the US were treasonous. Sometime the only way to stand up for what is right is to work outside the law. It can be hard but it is always important to fight for what you think is right.
    • 4/5
      L'œuvre est intéressante et l'omniprésence de l'État est toujours une question dans nos société. Le texte n'est pas récent mais dans l'ensemble, la logique semble toujours tenir la route. Une lecture rapide qui peut éclairer un peu plus sur l'importance de mieux libérer l'être humain dans nos sociétés.
    • 4/5
      Indeholder "Forord", "Civil lydighedsnægtelse", "Breve til Harrison G. O. Blake"."Forord" er skrevet af Ebbe Kløvedal Reich og handler om Thoreau's filosofi og indflydelse på Gandhi og andre."Civil lydighedsnægtelse" handler om ???"Breve til Harrison G. O. Blake" handler om ???
    • 5/5
      Seminal essay on the crossroads of politics, philosophy, ethics and activism, to name a few. Not only was it influential on thought of Gandhi, MLK and the like, but it will remain forever relevant.
    • 5/5
      A subversives Manifesto that would be distributed offline and online. A dignifying treatise that Government is to WIN Legitamacy rather than force it's ideas on us regardless of cost. A Thesis of Justice and anarchism that if the Government is corrupt etc as too many are, to rise up and deprive them of their powers. An worthy contribution to the Egalitarian and Justice Philosophy canon.
    • 5/5
      It's easy to see how influential this book been for so many. I admire Thoreau's iron will, the clarity of his conviction and the simplicity of his protest. It is a reminder of not too long ago of how much has changed in the world and our views of liberty with it.
    • 5/5
      What can I say about this important work that has not been said before? Nothing. But I can give you what I got out of reading this essay. @Vasilly said 'Why don't you just write a blurb about the book?' when I complained to her I was having trouble getting started writing this review. However, once I started, I found I had a lot to say....Thoreau's Civil Disobedience came out of the movement known as Transcendentalism. If you don't know, or don't remember from school, American Transcendentalism grew out of a protest in New England of the culture and society that was prevalent in the mid 19th century. Transcendentalists believed that an ideal spiritual state was not the one made solely out of religious doctrine, but one that transcended into nature, intuition, and idealism. It also rejected the idea that knowledge can only be gained through experience and observation, but could also be obtained through spiritual awakening.Thoreau's Civil Disobedience challenges the status quo and dares Americans to stand up for what is right and do what is right, and NOT JUST TALK ABOUT IT. He challenges the idea of slavery, corruption, paying taxes, the Mexican-American war and he even challenges abolitionists to withdraw their support of the government. "Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it....There are thousands who are in opinion opposed to slavery and to the war, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them; who, esteeming themselves children of Washington and Franklin, sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say that they know not what to do, and do nothing...They will wait, well disposed, for others to remedy the evil, that they may no longer have it to regret. At most, they give only a cheap vote, and a feeble countenance and God-speed to the right, as it goes by them. There are nine hundred and ninety-nine patrons of virtue to one virtuous man. But it is easier to deal with the real possessor of a thing than with the temporary guardian of it."If that is not a bold and powerful statement, I confess I don't know what is.Thoreau goes on to explain how he in different ways has put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. He shows he is no hypocrite. But he also shows he is not seeking a violent rebellion. In fact, he is opposed to unnecessary acts of aggression. As a country, we still have yet to embrace this message wholeheartedly.Thoreau also accuses people of taking positions for which they have no understanding or knowledge of the circumstances that arose around it. I certainly have this problem with people today and can understand his frustration. In my opinion, it is impossible to take a position politically, religiously, or otherwise, completely without question and with earnest, without actually knowing anything about the situation! Why do people do this? Do not take another person's position without understanding how they arrived at such a conclusion. Think for yourself! Do not let others think for you!Thoreau expresses his concern for this by comparing it to soldiers who must do what they are told, serving not as men but "as machines...marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, ay, against their common sense and consciences..."The mechanical way people react in this country is a problem that is just as real now as it was in the 1800s. While soldiers are trained to do as they are told as much for their safety as for their duty to the country, civilians act as if they are robots, blindly falling into line with everyone else because they are ignorant to what is really happening. (Note: I don't want anything taken the wrong way here. I am completely a supporter of soldiers and know that they must follow orders and die for their country and beliefs. I don't want anyone thinking I don't. My father, grandfather, uncle, and boyfriend have all served.)The worst part is when people choose to be ignorant over a situation. It is as Abraham Lincoln said, "The man who can read and doesn't has no advantage over the man who can't," I say that the person who can be informed and chooses to let someone else make decisions for them has no advantage over the person who has no choice. It is a waste of democracy and freedom. If you let politicians or neighbors tell you "their versions" of the information (or even news agencies) than you are allowing others to pick and choose which information they think is important for you to know about.It is hard to stay informed, no doubt. Especially in the internet age. There is always a breaking news story, a new op-ed piece, a new report, a new eyewitness account. But it is important that we know what we are or are not obeying. We need to know what we are and are not supporting. We need to know what we do and do not believe. This can't be done by taking in only bits and pieces of information or by using only one or two sources for information. Thoreau's Civil Disobedience is as much about encouraging others to perform their duties of freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and, of course, responsibility. Thoreau's essay is also about reaching your own individual conclusions about life through both the physical and the spiritual realms.I may have gone off on a tangent here (and my soapbox) but I think that just proves how immensely meaningful a read this is. If you have not read this essay, or it has been a while, like it has for me (read it in high school, but had completely different reaction this time), I recommend re-reading it. Even if you don't agree with Thoreau's points, it is an important read.
    • 4/5
      Thoreau's classic, Civil Disobedience, is a work that inspired Gandhi and MLK. In true transcendental fashion, Thoreau calls on the just individual to disobey unjust laws. It is not enough to simply disagree with a law, one must take action through passive resistance. Thoreau tells a personal anecdote of how he refused to pay the tax collector because that would mean he supported slavery and the Mexican American War. The result was a night in jail. Ironically, since Thoreau was basically living off the land at that time, the jail paid for his bed and food that night.I remember reading Thoreau's Walden in high school American Lit class. My friends and I got a big kick out it, dying to find out what Thoreau would say next. His ideas were very foreign to us.Now, as an adult, I can appreciate his works much more. It's fascinating to see the historical impact this one man had on future leaders and the American identity.

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