Final answer:
Henry David Thoreau believed that the state should not interfere with individuals as long as they do not harm others, advocating for a simple life and the right to resist unjust laws.
Step-by-step explanation:
Henry David Thoreau, a prominent transcendentalist, argued that the state should leave individuals alone as long as they were not harming others. In Walden and his essay Civil Disobedience, Thoreau advocated for a simple life and for individuals to nonviolently defy unjust laws. He believed that a government should minimize its interference in individuals' lives, allowing them the freedom to live according to their principles unless they caused harm to others. Highlighting individualism, Thoreau's experience at Walden Pond exemplified living deliberately and focusing on the essential aspects of life, such as self-reliance, personal freedom, and a deep connection to nature. His ideas on passive resistance influenced leaders like Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., demonstrating the global impact of his beliefs on individual freedom and resistance to injustice.