Civil Disobedience

Prompt:

How does Thoreau justify the moral need for civil disobedience? What principle does he rely on this justification?

Answer:

     In this selection of David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, the writer preaches the justifications of acts civil rebellion. Thoreau begins his essay by claiming that "That government is best which governs least." His approval of such governments is because he believes that powerful, governing governments tend to pervert before the civilians make use of it. He then provides the Mexican War as an example, a war that extended the slavery in America. Had the commoners known the true intentions of the war, no one would've approved. Thoreau later transitions to his next point; a citizen indirectly supports his/her government's injustice by joining an army or paying taxes. He later confesses that he had not paid taxes for almost six years, and has later imprisoned for a day. 

The experience widened his eyes to the fact the the government is only physically powerful, with no intellectual, ethical, or moral power what so ever. 

     In conclusion, David Thoreau implies that civil disobedience is justified when the acts and actions of a government oppose the person's conscience. He also argues that majority is only physically powerful, and that, as long as they're truly following their conscience, minority is morally powerful. He believes that if only one honest man stood up against the injustices of a government, he can actually achieve a difference.