Civil Disobedience By Thoreau

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Nguyen 1 Matthew Nguyen Mrs. Arciero Academic English II 14 March 2011 The Political Messages and Thoughts in Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” For generations people have disagreed with the laws and policies of their leaders. Some have felt powerless to act, while others took violent action to protest what they perceived to be unfair laws, oppressive regimes, or unjust wars. A few felt morally responsible to express, through non-violent means, opposition to power even when it meant defying the law of the land. Those few have changed the world. Henry David Thoreau is credited as one of the founders of the Transcendentalism movement in America and one of the most important writers during that literary period. Thoreau is one of those few who change the world when his conscience leads him to express his opposition to government laws and policies through his acts of non-violent protest, through his writing of “Civil Disobedience,” and through his example to people of conscience throughout the world. During the 1700s and 1800s, slave trade was important around the world. Most slaves came by ship on a sea route called the middle passage. When slaves were obtained or purchased, they were to fulfill a purpose. Most were bought to work on farms and plantations in order to grow crops or raw materials to create goods in order to make money. Slaves were laborers who did all the backbreaking labor for their masters so that the masters would live wonderful lives. Nguyen 2 Slavery was a controversial subject upon many people. Some people have strong support for slavery, but many others oppose as well. Those who strongly support slavery want slaves because they are used to produce agricultural products as well as to increase sales in world markets. Many of these people relied on slaves or else their economy and society would be hampered. These people would not know how to
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