Thoreau's Influence On Civil Disobedience

When Thoreau states in his opening line “that government is best which governs not at all” it sounds like the motto of the modern day Republican Party. Someone who refuses to pay taxes because of the actions of the government. For Thoreau it was the Mexican-American War and slavery. Today, it could be a Republican not wanting to pay taxes because the government will waste it on Obamacare or some welfare program. What is ironic is that Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” for much of the 19th century was ignored. It was not until the 20th century, most notably Gandhi and Martin Luther King, where Thoreau’s idea of civil disobedience came alive. His theory was espoused by the liberal and social progressive movement; most notably the Civil Rights

Interestingly, as pointed out by Lawrence Rosenwald, Professor of English at Wellesley College in this article The Theory, Practice & Influence of Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, the time in which Thoreau failed to pay his taxes and was jailed, was four years before the Mexican-American War. Also, the tax Thoreau refused to pay was not a federal tax. It was a tax that was used for state and local purposes. Since the Mexican War was a federal action and because slavery was not legal in the New England states, it would seem that Thoreau’s resistance was misplaced. However, Thoreau was protesting the nature of government. He saw no difference between the state, the local and the federal government. Rosenwald points out that, while the state of Massachusetts was against slavery, their law enforcement and court system enforced the Fugitive Slaw law by not preventing the return of slaves to the southern states. This was the type of thinking that ultimately leads Northerners to the action that a Civil War was necessary to resolve the slavery issue. Thoreau’s basis for civil disobedience is not to separate oneself from the government but to influence the government to serve the better interests of society. In the context of the middle of 19th century America that would be to effectuate the social values of ending slavery and foregoing foreign