Henry David Thoreau was an author, philosopher, and transcendentalist who focused on writing books, essays, articles, poetry, and journals. Some of his most renowned works include Walden and Civil Disobedience, both of which helped to influence modern-day thought on civil rights and simple living. Thoreau was an abolitionist, and his written works influenced the future works of Martin Luther King Jr. Thoreau also believed that a government was best when it didn’t govern at all. All of his written works strongly detailed his beliefs on government, culture, and society.

A Biography of Thoreau’s Life

Henry David Thoreau was born July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau had three siblings, Helen, John, and Sophia. In his teen years, Thoreau attended Harvard where he studied Greek and Latin composition and grammar, four different languages, math, philosophy, and history. It was at Harvard that Thoreau read the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who ended up becoming his mentor and good friend.

After graduating Harvard, Thoreau followed in the footsteps of his siblings and became a teacher. Later, Thoreau decided that he wanted to be a poet that focused on nature and the environment. He lived and worked with Emerson from 1841 to 1843, where he learned to read and write for the transcendentalist paper, The Dial.

In 1845, Thoreau decided to build and live in a small cabin on Walden Pond. During this time, Thoreau kept a journal detailing his life on the pond and his thoughts during that time period. It was this journal that later became one of his most famous works, Walden. While living at the pond, Thoreau would occasionally travel into town. On one visit, Thoreau was arrested for failing to pay a tax to support an American war in Mexico. His time in jail influenced another of his most influential works, Civil Disobedience.

After living two years on the pond, Thoreau returned to Emerson’s home in 1847 and lived a couple more years with his family. After leaving Emerson’s home, he lived in his family home, occasionally working for a pencil factory and performing land surveys. He did travel to Canada, Cape Cod, and Maine, which influenced his book, A Yankee in Canada, Cape Cod, and the Maine Woods. Henry David Thoreau died from tuberculosis in 1862, at the age of 44.

• Henry David Thoreau online is an extensive website that details his life and his works.
• The Thoreau Society details Thoreau’s life, including how his family impacted his works and beliefs.
• American Writers: Emerson & Thoreau discusses the works of Emerson and his influence of the writers on each other.

Thoreau’s Impact on the Transcendentalist Movement

Transcendentalism was a movement in the early to mid 19^th century that embraced new ideas in literature, religion, and culture. It was a protest to intellectualism and the doctrine of the Unitarian Church. It was a belief that people can reach a spiritual state by utilizing their intuition, and not by learned doctrines and religious teachings. Through his writings, Thoreau was able to impart his beliefs on how people should live in order to transcend the current world. By living simply and without many material goods, a person can be in the world, but not of the world. By using the influence of Emerson, Thoreau became one of the leading influences of the transcendentalist movement. Many scholars like to quote Thoreau’s statement “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer” to portray Thoreau’s belief that every man must transcend the current sociological ideals.

• Virginia Commonwealth University discusses the roots and influences of transcendentalism.
• Transcendentalism by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy lists the history and influences of the movement.
• Johns Hopkins University has a published essay about transcendentalism and Thoreau.

The Importance of Walden and Its Impact on His Works

Walden was Thoreau’s first-hand experience at living and experiencing transcendentalism and naturalism. Thoreau showed how he lived simply and with self-reliance for two years. He explained what it was like to plant and harvest his own food, benefit from the labor of his own hands, and meditate and think within nature. He also lived a life void of a governing body and religious institution. Many scholars believe it is such a great work because it is not a forced exposition, in other words edited to fit into different chapters or sections. Walden is merely a recollection of his daily life, written down when he felt the need to write it.

Without his experience at Walden, Thoreau may never have written Civil Disobedience. Although he only spent one night in jail, this experience led him to thrash out at the government and write an exposition that would be extremely influential to future civil rights leaders. Thoreau also used his observations on nature as recorded in Walden to construct essays and charts on nature and natural preservation. Thoreau is considered an influence in modern-day preservation practices.

• The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau explores Walden as a basis for much of Thoreau’s scholarly influence. Weider History GroupWeider History Group
• Walden is a site that has a photographic journey of Walden Pond.
• NPR has lectures and media on Thoreau and Walden Pond.

Civil Disobedience and Its Impact on the Civil Rights Movement

This essay was originally titled Resistance to Civil Government, and outlined Thoreau’s defense for not paying taxes to support the Mexican-American war and the practice of slavery. He believed paying taxes for these acts was a practice of injustice on his part. He believed that the government should recognize that each person has his own higher, independent power from which the government in turn receives its power.

His beliefs and ideas influenced many civil rights leaders from Ghandi to Martin Luther King Jr. Ghandi credits Thoreau with helping the abolition of slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. credits Thoreau with giving him his first experience at non-violent protest. Because of this experience, Martin Luther King Jr. was inspired to become one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history.

• Weider History Group showcases Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from jail in relation to Thoreau’s essay written after his release from jail.
• University of Idaho has an essay about Ghandi, King, and Thoreau.

Henry David Thoreau’s belief that man should live in nature and experience nature helped him write some of America’s classic works. While many of his works were intended to be essays or lectures for scholars and students, the overall theme allowed them to be bound together in books. The one character trait that allowed Thoreau’s works to be studied by so many influential people is that he didn’t write about any theories or beliefs he wasn’t willing to practice himself.

• Henry David Thoreau Bibliography has a list of all of Thoreau’s published works.