Civil Disobedience
In 1848, Henry David Thoreau twice delivered lectures in Concord, Massachusetts, on “the relationship of the individual to the state.” The essay now known as Civil Disobedience is a significant and widely admired contribution to abolitionist literature, as well as an anti-war tract, but Thoreau’s focus is less on political organization and solidarity than it…
The Legacy of Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience
As the streets of America fill with protesters on a nearly weekly basis since the inauguration of President Trump last month, the writings of Henry David Thoreau remain as relevant as ever. One of his most well-known works speaks to the importance of “cultivating personal integrity in the face of political injustice” according to Bob…