Edgar Allan Poe

Thoreau's essay Civil Disobedience was published in 1849 under the title "Resistance to Civil Government." Thoreau was briefly jailed in 1847 for refusal to pay taxes in protest against the Mexican War. He became interested in transcendentalism as promulgated by Emerson (author of Self-Reliance).

In his writings, Thoreau is explaining the depth and breadth of an individuals responsibility to themselves and how in that context purely stated there is no other path other than creation of a system for ones self that excludes government regulations, or we have lost ourselves through voluntary compliance with things we did not create nor want; and since we only have one life and one chance to bring this upon ourselves there is no moment when we are allowed (within our own bodies and minds) to be guided by any other script other than our own. One does not switch from government compliance to resistance. One never begins a compliant life. In this way one has integrity.