Henry David Thoreau Research Paper

Brendan Mantey
Mr. Foster
AP Lit 12
September 31st, 2014

Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau is best known for his writings on Natural history and philosophy, his belief in the destruction society and government have on the individual, being an abolitionist, giving a basis for revolutionaries to come, and his creativity of writing in a way that promoted integrity.
Thoreau was born on July 12th, 1817 in Concord Massachusetts. His father, John, was a shopkeeper and his mother, Cynthia, took in boarders to help support the family. His father eventually opened up a pencil making job to bring financial stability to the family. His brother and sister, Helen and John, both became schoolteachers (Witherell 2).
Henry grew up in the same…show more content…
After working through seven drafts, it was published in 1854, where the first run sold out by 1959 (Schneider 1). Walden is a landmark of Thoreau’s life, as it precisely encapsulates Thoreau’s childhood as well as what he stood for in his life: abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, and transcendentalist.
While living alone for these 2 years, Thoreau refused to pay his poll tax and was brought to jail. This lead to his essay “Civil Disobedience,” where Thoreau argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule them. The purpose of this text was to bring attention to and argue his views on slavery. This essay is widely known and has been used greatly by fellow abolitionists Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr (Schneider 1).
Other texts by Thoreau include A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Excursions, The Maine Woods, Cape Cod, Faith in a Seed, A Yankee in Canada, With Anti-Slavery and Reform Papers and many essays that contributed to other works like The Dial, The Landlord, A Walk to Wachusett, and Resistance to Civil Government (Schneider…show more content…
He and his mentor, Emerson, protested the ideas of slavery and had their beliefs solely focused on the goodness of people and nature (Woodlief 3). The purpose of Thoreau going into the woods was because he believed that society and the institutions with it corrupt the purity of the individual.
Though Thoreau received no national awards, he will forever be seen as the co-founder of Transcendentalism and the father of naturalism. His works are ones to look up to, as many have, either for becoming a revolutionary or learning to stray from technology and become an individual. Resources 1. Schneider, Richard. "Life and Legacy." Welcome to The Thoreau Society. The Thoreau Society. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. 2. 4Witherell, Elizabeth. "The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau." The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://thoreau.library.ucsb.edu/thoreau_life.html> 3. Woodlief, Ann. "Henry David Thoreau." Henry David Thoreau. © Psymon. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://transcendentalism-legacy.tamu.edu/authors/thoreau/>. 4. "Henry David Thoreau." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 28 Sep. 2014. 5. "Transcendentalism." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2014. Web. 28 Sept.