Henry David Thoreau
By: Braden Bedichek
Summary
Henry was an American poet, journalists, and philosopher. He was also a New England Transcendentalist. Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts. He began writing nature poetry in the 1840s, with poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. In 1845 he started living on Walden Pond, which he wrote about in his master work, Walden. He also became known for his beliefs in Transcendentalism and civil disobedience, and was a dedicated abolitionist.[1]
[1] "Henry David Thoreau." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
Writings
Walden- One of his very first books that he wrote was called Walden and he wrote it while he was living near Walden pond right outside of Concord, Massachusetts in an old cabin that he had built for two years staright away from civilization. He wrote a lot about nature and descriptive writings. He was fascinated at the world around him.
In Civil Disobedience- Henry claimed that the government wasn’t working and one day he refused to pay his taxes to the government in order to protest slavery and he spent the whole night in jail. He writes about his opinions and what his feelings as a citizen. Henry’s form of protest was advocating reform within the government because he felt like the government wasn’t working.[2]
[2] "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text." Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
Importance
Some people read Henrys' writings and looked at him like he was a one man revolution. He played a huge amount of courage and integrity for standing up for what he believed in. He wrote everything that we was seeing, hearing, and feeling down in journals and they were later published in 20 different volumes in 1906.[3]
[3] "Thoreau, Henry David|Infoplease. n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014."
Works Cited
1. "Henry David Thoreau." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.
2. "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text." Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
3. "Thoreau, Henry David|Infoplease. n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014."
4."Henry David Thoreau Top 10 Quotes." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.