Cover of On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau Ebook On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
Ebook · Adelphi Press

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

Author
Henry David Thoreau
Series
Ideas for Life
Language
English
Length
32 pages
ISBN
9781911429180
Published
15 May 2016
Imprint
Adelphi Press
  • nonviolent resistance
  • individual conscience
  • unjust laws
  • civil rights
  • moral duty
  • activism
  • government policy
  • ethical protest
  • social reform
  • principled dissent

All titles

Description

"On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" is Henry David Thoreau's impassioned argument for the right to oppose unjust government policies and practices. Stemming from his refusal to pay a tax that supported slavery and the Mexican-American War, Thoreau's essay defends the principle that individual conscience should outweigh statutory law when the two conflict. Advocating for nonviolent resistance, Thoreau's work is a cornerstone of civil rights movements, emphasizing that true change is achieved not through compliance but through principled dissent.

Author

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) wrote Walden and the essay on civil disobedience. A pond becomes a republic of attention: beans, ice, visitors, and the cost of a life measured in hours. Concord was the address; the argument was larger. Twelve titles here. He walked, measured, refused a tax, and made refusal sound like a method. The sentences still send people outdoors, and into argument. He is easier to quote than to follow.

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