I have paid no poll tax in six years. I was put into a jail once on this account, for one night. -Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience, 1849 Use the except to answer the following question. How did Thoreau justify this act of civil disobedience?

Answer 1

Thoreau justified his act of civil disobedience by stating that he did not believe in supporting a government that he deemed unjust. He believed that the poll tax was used to fund immoral practices such as slavery and the Mexican-American War. Thoreau argued that it was his duty as an individual to take a stand against these injustices by refusing to financially contribute to the government through tax payment.