In “Civil Disobedience” and “Slavery in Massachusetts,” Thoreau is not arguing for nonviolent resistance, but rather stressing action and disruption.
While “Civil Disobedience” evokes mild-mannered forms of protest, Thoreau is advocating for disrupting civilities in order to draw attention to the oppressive system of slavery and America’s involvement with the Mexican-American War. Thoreau writes “Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it” (9). Here, Thoreau argues hat even if one votes for the best candidate, that is not enough, and that action is the key. This is an idea that will permeate “Civil Disobedience.” People must be driven to action instead of simply saying that the current corrupt practices should change. Simply voting for a candidate who promises to do something is not effective enough, individual people must actively fight for what is right. Thoreau also discusses disruption in “Slavery in Massachusetts,” and how the government has disrupted the lives of citizens with their unfair laws and practices. He writes “We have used up all our inherited freedom. If we would save our lives, we must fight for them…My thoughts are murder to the state, and involuntarily go plotting against her” (13-14). The author explores how citizens have exhausted the freedom they had inherited from their forefathers, and that the time has now come to push for more freedom. The specific wording of “we must fight” stresses the importance of action, and indicates a struggle of effort. Thoreau’s revolutionary ideas go against the state, and are antithetical to the current laws in practice that allow for the system of slavery to continue. However, Thoreau’s inflammatory thoughts are what emphasize this work and stress its importance. The word choices of “murder” and “plotting” highlight how an aggressive approach is necessary.
Thoreau also showcases how grave the situation in America is, stating “...when the friction comes to have its machine, and oppression and robbery are organized, I say, let us not have such a machine any longer…I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize” (7). Here, Thoreau discusses the evils committed by the American government, not only discussing the system of slavery but also the “robbery” of land that the American army is stealing. It is now time for everyday honest men to put aside their comfort and their peace, and to take up arms and fight against these injustices. Thoreau’s call to action is displayed in “Slavery in Massachusetts,” where he states “...some of my townsmen took the liberty to ring and fire; that was the extent of their freedom; and when the sound of the bells died away, their liberty died away also; when the powder was all expended, their liberty went off with the smoke” (4). This quote explicates how people celebrate their freedom very loudly, but that these are merely empty gestures that lack true reason. Their sense of liberty died just as the noise did, and this is not true freedom. Thoreau critiques those who are eager to participate in purely performative celebrations of freedom, but will not do the actual hard work in order to fight for the freedom of others. This is hypocritical and does not fit in with Thoreau’s insistence that action must come from individual people in order to enact real change.
Thoreau actively argues that passive resistance is not enough, and that to enact long-lasting and concrete change, one must actively fight unfair practices and put individual effort into resistance.
