"Civil Disobedience" is an essay by Henry David Thoreau, published in 1849. Thoreau argues that individuals should not allow governments to overrule their consciences and that they have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. Thoreau was motivated in part by his repulsion of slavery and the Mexican-American War. He argues that governments are typically more harmful than helpful and that democracy is no cure for