Transcendentalist: "Resisting a Civil Government"

The details of “Resisting a Civil Government” can very easily express a lot about the author Henry David Thoreau, in a short amount of time. He summed up nearly six years of living his life as saw fit; in a single night in a jail in his hometown of concord, Massachusetts. He was in jail for not paying a tax charged to citizens for the right to vote. His basis for his argument in his defense of not paying the taxes was his anti-war sentiments during the Mexican war. His anti-war sentiments lied with his belief that Nations were not responsible enough to manage armed forces reasonably. He implied vividly the differences between how a government would conduct itself, and how neighbors would conduct themselves. Comparing a nation to a house hold of individuals really shows the gap between amounts of courtesy showed.

His argument that I spoke of lie with the state as he called it, in reality I think he was a very small minority speaking loudly out against near a whole nation’s majority. He may have figured, as many people were during this era that live can be lead in yet another way, as time can tell us. His arrest and jailing for his tax evasion did not make him feel at all guilty, shown by the little remorse he showed for his actions. Thoreau was a firm believer in personal rights and because his inclination was that his peace could be found in nature, he didn’t seek the things that life can give to those in cities and with jobs.

“I heartily accept the motto – “That government is best which governs least”; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically.” This is a very strong example of Thoreau’s political beliefs and what made him a well known writer. His writing always had ties to where he stood politically, especially in the Mexican war. His resentment of being governed by an invisible hand lead Thoreau to transcend the obedience installed in him by society and live by his actions and the results they created. His comment towards the end of his phrase about wanting to see the government acting faster and in a simpler refined manor showed his idea for a less strict, laid back government that only managed minimal affairs. Thoreau’s writings political themes made him a very strong Transcendentalist figure in his day and age. A man who felt that God’s influence would not always lead people down the same path and that all the paths that he made should be able for humans to embark down at their own free will.