Thoreau’s disapproval of the government, the essay’s failure to stop slavery or the government’s desire to expand westward, the idea of disobeying an unjust law, the impact of Thoreau’s essay on the civil rights movement, including the bus boycott, Rosa Parks, the Greensboro sit-in, the Freedom Riders, and Martin Luther King Jr.
In "Civil Disobedience," Thoreau championed the idea that if a government is not going to improve itself, then it is the duty of the people to refuse to support it. This paved the way for non-violent protests, such as those led by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
