According to Thoreau, what should a good citizen do about an unjust law? What are the consequences of this type of thinking?

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Social Studies

Tanya Maynard

7 January, 05:30

According to Thoreau, what should a good citizen do about an unjust law? What are the consequences of this type of thinking?

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Freddy Cohen · Answer 1

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) developed the theory of Civil Disobedience in an essay called Resistance to Civil Government, under which individuals should not allow any government to interfere with their consciences. According to Thoreau, conscientious citizens have the duty take action so as not to be turned into agents of the government's unjustice by, for example, refusing to pay taxes in the face of an unjust law.

This type of reasoning, exemplified in Thoreau's words "Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?," triggers consequences such as a sense of defiance between individuals and their governments and various legal implications.