First published 2016
Thoreau builds his argument that people must not allow governments to override their personal conscience. He contends that citizens bear responsibility to resist when the state would make them instruments of wrongdoing. His opposition to slavery and the Mexican-American War drove him to write this influential piece in 1849. The essay crosses multiple academic fields, appearing regularly in coursework for social sciences, political science, civil rights, and humanities. This collection adds four more of Thoreau's popular works: Life Without Principle, Slavery In Massachusetts, A Plea for Captain John Brown, and Walking. Together these essays reveal Thoreau's transcendentalist philosophy applied to the pressing social and political questions of his era.
Genres: essays, american, 19th-century, activism, humanities, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: conscience, resistance
Period: 1849
126 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform