Thoreau is best known for his criticism and dislike of society and the bland way it is. Thoreau refused to pay taxes to an unjust government that supported slavery and was fighting an unjust war with the Spanish people.Just so, what does Thoreau believe about society?
As a Transcendentalist, Thoreau believed that people should follow their own consciences rather than doing what society expects of them. This idea can very often be at odds with the idea of having a government.
Secondly, what two specific situations is Thoreau most unhappy about? The two major issues being debated in the United States during Thoreau's life were slavery and the Mexican-American War. Both issues play a prominent part in Thoreau's essay. By the late 1840s, slavery had driven a wedge in American society, with a growing number of Northerners expressing anti-slavery sentiments.
Similarly one may ask, what does Thoreau mean by a better government?
Thoreau says that government does not, in fact, achieve that with which we credit it: it does not keep the country free, settle the West, or educate. Rather, for the moment, he is asking for a better government.
What kind of person was Thoreau?
Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862) was an American philosopher, naturalist, writer and political activist of the early Modern period. He was involved with the 19th Century American Transcendentalism movement of his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson.
What are Thoreau's main ideas?
The three basic ideas (Experience, Self-reliance, and Worship) in Thoreau's Walden deals specifically with one theme: “Simplicity”. To Thoreau, simplicity in experience, simplicity in self-reliance, and simplicity in worship breeds the finer things in life.What is Thoreau's opinion of progress?
Thoreau's view about progress is pretty much being able to get the most from life by only using nature. Basically, you are progressing in life if you are able to live a full life without depending on other unnecessary material things.What did Thoreau believe?
Thoreau's attitude toward reform involved his transcendental efforts to live a spiritually meaningful life in nature. As a transcendentalist, Thoreau believed that reality existed only in the spiritual world, and the solution to people's problems was the free development of emotions ("Transcendentalism").What is the idea of transcendentalism?
Transcendentalists believe that society and its institutions—particularly organized religion and political parties—corrupt the purity of the individual. They have faith that people are at their best when truly "self-reliant" and independent. It is only from such real individuals that true community can form.What is the main point of Walden?
To me, the point of Thoreau's book Walden is to give us his philosophical views of how you should live your life. To me, his major points are: You need to be one with nature. Thoreau is a Transcendentalist and they believe that people and nature are both part of each other.What is Thoreau's solution?
Thoreau's Proposed Solution in Walden and Civil Disobedience. Thoreau's prescription for American desperation cannot be accepted by the masses for it is rooted in anti-socialism when humans are essentially social in nature.Why did Thoreau leave the woods?
Thoreau moved to the woods of Walden Pond to learn to live deliberately. He desired to learn what life had to teach him. He moved to the woods to experience a purposeful life.What Thoreau thinks about wealth?
Why does he say that the rich are less likely to practice civil disobedience? Thoreau is highly critical of materialism and consumption. He argues that when people have a lot of wealth they begin to concentrate on how to spend their money, instead of on how they should live their lives.What kind of government does Thoreau think is best?
In "Civil Disobedience," Thoreau wrote that the best kind of government was the one "which [governed] not at all" (Thoreau 1).How does Thoreau define a good citizen?
Good citizenship. Henry David Thoreau wrote that men who serve the state making "no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moral senseare commonly esteemed good citizens." Orit Ichilov notes that children "tend to perceive the government in the image of an ideal father that is benevolent and protective.What does it mean to say that the government is best which governs least?
The quote that you are asking about comes from Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience. The main thrust of the quote is the idea that government should not intervene in the lives of its citizens any more than is absolutely necessary. Thoreau is saying that good governments do only what is necessary.What is Thoreau's basic opinion about the government?
When Thoreau says,"That government is best which governs least," he means that the government is best and most profitable when it presides over less. In Thoreau's opinion the government should be for the use of working towards the human conscience.What did social justice mean to Thoreau?
By definition justice means the quality of being just or fair. Justice is the administration of law, the act of determining rights and assigning rewards or punishments, "justice deferred is justice denied.” The terms of Justice is brought up in Henry David Thoreau's writing, “Civil Disobedience.”How did your prior knowledge help you better understand civil disobedience?
Prior knowledge help you better understand “Civil Disobedience” because of knowledge of the Mexican-American War, knowledge of Thoreau's transcendental beliefs, and knowledge of Thoreau's response to the war.What should be respected more than the law?
According to Thoreau, what should be respected more than the law? When Thoreau says he did not enjoy being in prison, but he also felt what freedom felt like in prison. The idea that this paradox illustrates is that a person's imagination could make them feel free wherever they are.What is a standing government?
Standing (law) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In law, standing or locus standi is the term for the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party's participation in the case.What does Thoreau believe is necessary for change?
He says that if an injustice is part of the "necessary friction" of the "machine of government," then it should be left alone. Thoreau then argues that working for change through government takes too much time and requires a person to waste his life. 
