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FIGHT THE POWER!

FIGHT THE POWER!. Henry David Thoreau, His Neck Beard and Civil Disobedience. In Your Notebooks…. In the opening four paragraphs, HDT explains his attitude regarding government in general and the current state of American government in particular. What is this attitude?

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FIGHT THE POWER!

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  1. FIGHT THE POWER! Henry David Thoreau, His Neck Beard and Civil Disobedience

  2. In Your Notebooks… • In the opening four paragraphs, HDT explains his attitude regarding government in general and the current state of American government in particular. • What is this attitude? • What exactly is his problem with the current state of affairs?

  3. Another Ongoing Conversation • Though Lincoln’s speech and Thoreau’s essay are separated by eleven years, the two are nonetheless engaged in an ongoing conversation about the citizen’s responsibility to the government’s laws. Find four or five instances in the two texts where it seems as though Abe and HD are “talking” to one another. What does each person have to say to the other about the rule of law and how to deal with unjust laws?

  4. Mexico and Slavery • What is Thoreau’s opinion of the Mexican War and of the institution of slavery? Upon what does he base these opinions? • For what purpose does he allude to the the American Revolution? • Do you think that the majority of his readers would have seen the connection between present times and the revolutionary era? Why or why not? • What does Thoreau think about “manifest destiny”? • What is the North’s role in all of this?

  5. “Patrons of Virtue” • What leads Thoreau to complain that there are “nine hundred and ninety-nine patrons of virtue to one virtuous man”? • What is Thoreau’s qualm with these “patrons of virtue”? • How does he aim to be more than a “patron of virtue”? • How does he define “the struggle”?

  6. It’s like…the machine…man. • On a few occasions, Thoreau compares the workings of society to a machine. • Who dares explain this analogy? • What function do the people perform in this analogy? • How does Thoreau think “the people” should function as a part of this machine?

  7. “the struggle ever-renewed” • “The progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy, from a limited monarchy to a democracy, is a progress toward a true respect for the individual…Is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government? Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man? There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power…” (9). • What do you think? Is it possible to improve upon the concept of democracy? Can/will Thoreau’s vision ever be realized?

  8. Thoreau’s Legacy… • What is Thoreau’s legacy to the United States? • Where in the century-and-a-half after Thoreau have we seen citizens following in his footsteps?

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