Henry David Thoreau's on the Term Paper

It can have no pure right over my person and property but what I concede to it (Civil Disobedience (http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/civil/)."

He believed that the government should respect and bow to the people that elected its officers. According to Thoreau dissent should take place by way of refusal to pay taxes as the taxes are what line the pockets of those who are elected by the people and then do not obey the wishes of those people.

Thoreau argues that until the government recognizes the power of the individual voter over its massive head, and acts accordingly, with respect, then people should stop paying taxes.

The philosophy of Thoreau in his Civil Disobedience work carries through to current political issues as well. People who are not happy with the elected officials in government believe that those elected officials need to realize that they work for those they are ignoring.In addition, tax evasion for the purpose of political statement is not unheard of. Thoreau went to jail for it as do current evaders, but the end result is the same; the media picks up the story and the masses see that it is indeed possible to stand up to the government.

Dissent by way of tax resistance as well as electing public officials who will obey their constituents are two things that still occur in America and Thoreau discussed in his work.

Works Cited

Civil Disobedience

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/civil.....