ABSTRACT
The core question Henry David Thoreau seeks to answer in Civil Disobedience is, “What should the conscientious individual do when the prevailing political power compels him or her, directly or indirectly, to support unjust social practices?” This question is part of a broader theoretical problem in political philosophy that explores the relationship between the individual and authority. Slavery and the Mexican–American War were prominent topics of debate at the time of Civil Disobedience’s publication. In the northern states, the abolitionists’ opposition to slavery was growing. Still booming in the South, slavery had already been banned in the North, including in Thoreau’s home state of Massachusetts. The Mexican–American War of 1846–1848 had originated as a dispute over who controlled Texas and where the southern border of the United States ended. The American government wanted sovereignty over California and New Mexico because, within the broader scope of its doctrine of westward expansion, they were key frontier locations.
