Originally delivered as a lecture by Henry David Thoreau in 1849 to explain why he refused to pay his taxes, 'Resistance to Civil Government,' later known as 'Civil Disobedience' argues that we all have a moral obligation not to support a government with unjust laws. This is true even if withholding our support means breaking the law and risking punishment, such as imprisonment or loss of property.
Thoreau's protest was against slavery and unjustified war. While many people in the mid-nineteenth century shared Thoreau's disgust with slavery and war, his call to non-violent protest was ignored or misunderstood during his own lifetime. Later, in the 20th century, Thoreau's work would go on to inspire some of history's most significant protest leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr