ABSTRACT
Given that Henry David Thoreau was best known for his many works on nature, Civil Disobedience stands out because of its political character. In “A Plea for Captain John Brown”—a defense of a failed attempt to start an armed slave revolt—Thoreau reaffirms the ideas he proposed in Civil Disobedience about the legitimacy of violent resistance against grave injustice in. While studying at Harvard College, he come under the influence of Transcendentalism, a philosophical movement that had considerable impact on contemporary American intellectual life. Strong individualism, purity of conscience, and respect for nature were Transcendentalist ideas that became important characteristics of Thoreau’s writing. Thoreau loved exploring and observing nature and most of his writings are about the natural surroundings of his hometown of Concord, Massachusetts, and his short trips beyond it. While his political views had little influence in his own time, the idea of civil disobedience became increasingly important for resistance movements over the course of the twentieth century.
