The Political Thinking and Influence of Henry David Thoreau Essay examp

The Political Thinking and Influence of Henry David ThoreauThe purpose and nature of Henry David Thoreaus commitment to kindly reform has keen-sighted been a matter of debate among scholars. Drawing on his well-know disdain for create politics and his focus of ego-reform, some hold in observed that Thoreau was no social reformer (Goodwin 157). On the other hand, such major anti-slavery statements as well-mannered Disobedience, Slavery in Massachusetts, and A Plea for Captain John Brown, have been seen as evidence that Thoreau was deeply engaged in the most of import moral and political issues or his time (Harding 418). How can Thoreau the solipsistic hermit for whom the judicature is best which governs not at all, (Thoreau 1792) be reconciled with Thoreau the political activist most beloved by reformers (Cain 5), and influential in the careers of such social-minded figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King? For many scholars the key to understanding this apparent di chotomy lies in an exploration of Thoreaus particular understanding of the relationship between the transcendental self and society. In this exploration critics have most often turned to elegant Disobedience, Thoreaus most famous and influential statement on the individuals relation to the state. As Thoreau himself points out in the opening paragraph of courteous Disobedience, the war in Mexico (1972) is an important political context. In 1836 Texas declared its independence from Mexico and began petitioning for entry to the Union. Despite abolitionist opposition on the grounds that Texass admission would greatly increase slaveholding influence in national politics, the state was admitted to the spousal relationship on December 29th, 1845. However, because Me... ...eau and John Brown Transcendental Politics, ESQ 25 (1979) 156-68.Gougeon, Len. Thoreau and the vivid Environment. The Cambridge Companion to Henry David Thoreau. Ed. Joel Myerson. refreshful York Camb ridge University Press, 1995.Harding, Walter. The Days of Henry Thoreau A Biography. New York Alfred A. Knopf, 1965.Herr, William. A More Perfect State Thoreaus Concept of Civil Government. The Massachusetts Review 16 (1975) 470-487.Rosenwald, Lawrence. The Theory, Practice, and Influence of Thoreaus Civil Disobedience. A Historical Guide to Henry David Thoreau. Ed. William E. Cains. New York Oxford University Press, 2000. 153-180.Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience. Norton Anthology of American Literature 1820-1865. Ed. Nina Bayam et al. 6th ed. New York Norton, 2003. 1792-1806.