Resistance to Civil Government (Primary source)
Resistance to Civil Government, commonly known as Civil Disobedience, is a foundational essay advocating for the moral responsibility to oppose unjust laws and government actions. Written after Thoreau’s imprisonment for refusing to pay a poll tax in protest of slavery and the Mexican-American War, the essay argues that individuals must prioritize conscience over blind obedience to the state.
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“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
— Henry David Thoreau Primary source“Moreover, I, on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men’s lives.”
— Henry David Thoreau Primary source“I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest.”
— Henry David Thoreau Primary source“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
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“None preaches better than the ant, and she says nothing.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“Well done is better than well said.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“An egg today is better than a hen tomorrow.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“A little integrity is better than any career.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source