Walden and Civil Disobedience

American author, naturalist, and abolitionist, Henry David Thoreau was a principal figure of the 19th century movement of Transcendentalism. Central to the philosophy is a belief that people, who are inherently good, are corrupted by the organized institutions of society and that consequently the best community is one that is built upon on independence and self-reliance. In Thoreau's best known work, "Walden" we find a classic account of his attempt to live by the principles espoused in this ph ...