Civil Disobedience Summary | Chapterly
Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau: A Complete Summary "Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison." Overview Civil Disobedience (originally "Resistance to Civil Government," 1849) is perhaps the most influential essay on principled resistance to unjust authority. Written after Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay a poll tax, it argues that individuals have a duty to resist unjust laws through nonviolent means. The essay influenced Gandhi's independence movement, Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil rights campaigns, and countless other resistance movements worldwide. Context In 1846, Thoreau refused to pay his poll tax in protest of slavery and the Mexican-American War (which he saw as an attempt to expand slavery). He spent one night in Concord jail before someone (probably his aunt) paid the tax. This minor incident prompted profound reflection on the relationship between individual conscience and government authority. The Central Argument Government at Its Best "That government is best which governs least." Or even better: "That government is best which governs not at all." When humans are ready for it, they won't need government. Meanwhile, government should be improved. The Problem The majority rules not...