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About the Selection
This selection is excerpted from a
long essay, about twenty pages in
length, in which Thoreau advocates
civil disobedience––the deliberate
and public refusal to obey laws that
violate one’s personal principles. In
the portions included here, Thoreau
expresses his belief that government
has been no more than an impediment to the productivity and
achievements of the American
people. Philosophically, he stands
opposed to government. Practically,
he urges readers to try to make a
better government, one that
commands respect.
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Background
The Mexican War was a conflict between Mexico
and the United States that took place from 1846 to 1848. The war was
caused by a dispute over the boundary between Texas and Mexico, as well
as by Mexico’s refusal to discuss selling California and New Mexico to the
United States. Believing that President Polk had intentionally provoked the
conflict before gaining congressional approval, Thoreau and many other
Americans strongly objected to the war. In protest, Thoreau refused to pay
his taxes and was forced to spend a night in jail. After that experience,
Thoreau wrote “Civil Disobedience,” urging people to resist governmental
policies with which they disagree.
Reading Strategy
Evaluating the Writer’s
Statement of Philosophy
• Have students read the bracketed
passage. Explain that recognizing
their initial personal response to a
writer’s philosophy can help readers respond to evidence.
• Encourage students to paraphrase
Thoreau’s statement of philosophy
about government.
Possible response: He believes
that there should be as little
government as possible, because it
generally creates more problems
than it solves.
• Ask students the Reading Strategy
question: Before you read
Thoreau’s supporting arguments,
do you think you will agree with
his philosophy about government?
Explain.
Possible response: I disagree
with Thoreau because in our
modern, rapidly growing, fastpaced society, many tasks can be
best accomplished by government.
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I
heartily accept the motto, “That government is best which governs
least”;1 and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and
systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I
believe: “That government is best which governs not at all”; and when
men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they
will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.
The objections which have been brought against a standing army, and
they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be
brought against a standing government. The standing army is only an
arm of the standing government. The government itself, which is only
the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally
liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it.
Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few
individuals using the standing government as their tool; for in the
outset, the people would not have consented to this measure.
This American government—what is it but a tradition, though a
recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but
each instant losing some of its integrity? It has not the vitality and force
of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will. It is a
sort of wooden gun to the people themselves; and, if ever they should
use it in earnest as a real one against each other, it will surely split.
Reading Strategy
Evaluating the Writer’s
Statement of Philosophy
Before you read Thoreau’s
supporting arguments, do
you think you will agree
with his philosophy about
government? Explain.
Vocabulary Builder
expedient (ek spè« dè ßnt) n.
resource
Vocabulary Builder
posterity (päs ter« ß tè) n.
all succeeding generations
1. “That . . . least” the motto of the United States Magazine and Democratic Review, a
literary-political journal.
416 ■ A Growing Nation (1800–1870)
Government
Discuss whether government is, as Thoreau
contends, an impediment to our freedoms and
progress or whether citizens can improve their
local, state, and federal governments by exercising their right to participate. Explain that citizens have many opportunities to make their
voices heard, particularly on the local level.
Discuss the following ways groups and individuals can influence public policy. Ask students to
add their own suggestions to this list:
• Write a letter to a civic leader
• Organize or sign a petition
416
• Submit a letter to the editor of a local paper
• Speak out at a town meeting
• Exercise the right to vote
Have students think about their own responses
to governmental issues. Ask them whether they
have ever signed a petition or written a letter
voicing their feelings on a particular issue. Have
students discuss their views on what roles and
responsibilities individuals have as citizens in a
democracy.
But it is not the less necessary for this; for the people must have some
complicated machinery or other, and hear its din, to satisfy that idea
of government which they have. Governments show thus how successfully men can be imposed on, even impose on themselves, for their own
advantage. It is excellent, we must all allow; yet this government never
of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got
out of its way. It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the
West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American
people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have
done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its
way. For government is an expedient by which men would fain succeed
in letting one another alone; and, as has been said, when it is most
expedient, the governed are most let alone by it. Trade and commerce,
if they were not made of India rubber,2 would never manage to bounce
over the obstacles which legislators are continually putting in their
way; and, if one were to judge these men wholly by the effects of their
actions, and not partly by their intentions, they would deserve to be
classed and punished with those mischievous persons who put
obstructions on the railroads.
But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call
themselves no government men, I ask for, not at once no government,
but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind
of government would command his respect, and that will be one step
toward obtaining it. . . .
Answers
Vocabulary Builder
alacrity (ß lak« rß tè) n.
speed
1. Students should explain the reasoning behind their opinions.
2. (a) He accepts the motto ”That
government is best, which governs least.” (b) He would like to
see it implemented quickly and
systematically.
3. (a) A government that governs
least is the best possible kind of
government. (b) Thoreau says
that when people are ready, they
will dispense with government
altogether.
4. (a) He’s asking them to step
forward and state what they want
from government. (b) Students
should support their responses
with an evaluation of Thoreau’s
arguments
5. (a) Possible response: Without
a standing government, the
nation cannot prepare itself for
war, cannot make plans for future
needs and cannot organize
national elections. (b) Possible
response: Governments provide
schools, military and civil defense
and transportation systems.
2. India rubber a form of crude rubber.
Critical Reading
1. Respond: What kind of government commands your respect? Why?
2. (a) Recall: What motto does Thoreau accept? (b) Analyze: How
would he like to see that motto implemented?
For additional information about Henry David
Thoreau, have students type in the Web
Code, then select T from the alphabet,
and then select Henry David Thoreau.
3. (a) Recall: How does Thoreau define the best possible kind of
government? (b) Draw Conclusions: According to Thoreau, when
will Americans get the best possible kind of government?
4. (a) Summarize: What is Thoreau asking his readers to do?
(b) Evaluate: Does Thoreau present a convincing argument for
acting on one’s principles?
5. (a) Criticize: What arguments might you use to counter Thoreau’s
objections to the idea of a standing government? (b) Support: What
examples might you provide to support an argument that
government benefits individuals?
For: More about Henry
David Thoreau
Visit: www.PHSchool.com
Web Code: ere-9313
from Civil Disobedience ■ 417
417