Henry David Thoreau

Here's a video of his impact. Thoreau has taken Emerson's ability to make powerful one line quotes and in Resistance To Civil Government he express his ideas in the same powerful one-liners.

"Moreover, any man more right than his neighbors, constitutes a majority of one (1863)." Is one of my favorite lines because it connects so well with what Emerson says in Self Reliance: The majority is wrong.

Thoreau's argument can best be summed up through the quote, "I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad (1836)." which means that the most important part of life is living it. In context he is arguing with the idea of petitions and how long they take to go through. And how we must reach a point where immediate action is needed.

"Thoreau was right when he said, "We want great peasants more than great heroes." from Janey Canunk In The West. But he, like Emerson, like Loewen, warns against heroification of those who take action.