Civil Disobedience, an essay by Henry David Thoreau, has been the inspiration of many conscientious Americans since the time it was written. The essay, written in explanation of Thoreau's refusal to pay taxes in protest of the Mexican-American War, is one of the greatest written works on the rights and responsibilities of a citizen.
OBMABThis essay is contains many classic Transcendental themes, including celebrating the individual. He urges individual thought and the questioning of authority. He goes on to criticize those who give their bodies and minds to the government, never questioning the government or having to make moral judgments. He also emphasizes non-conformity, another essential part of Transcendentalism. The essay talks of the rights of the minority, and how they should deal with a law they consider unjust or an action by their government they take to be wrong. Thoreau writes of the two ways that a concerned citizen to deal with an unjust law or action; to attempt to convince the majority of their opinion, or to protest with civil disobedience. He writes, "Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them all at once?" Thoreau later answers his own question when he writes that, "A minority is powerless when it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight."
He also envisions a new kind of government, one that he sees as a government even greater than democracy. This new government that he envisions is one that highlights, caters to, and celebrates the individual. The government would recognize that the individual is, in fact, a greater power and authority than the government itself. Thoreau also makes the statement that, while there is nothing wrong with voting, it by itself is a weak way of changing the system. He writes, "Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it." He asks those who find something terribly wrong in government to passively revolt, to support a peaceful revolution that accomplishes their goals without shedding blood.
People from Ghandi to Martin Luther King, Jr. 
have been influenced by Civil Disobedience and put its ideas successfully into action. Their results have proven the greatness of theories Thoreau provided us with, and the timelessness of his work. Though the ideas were presented in the 1840's, they were used very successfully in the 1960's. Civil Disobedience has changed the world.