Civil Rights & Civil Disobedience Henry David Thoreau's Involvement in the Underground Railroad

“Civil Rights & Civil Disobedience”

A thought-provoking exploration of Thoreau’s participation in the Underground Railroad, his abolitionist views, night in jail and how his writings have historically inspired civil rights movements around the world.

Delivered by Richard Smith with the Thoreau Society

Near the end of July 1846, Henry David Thoreau was arrested in his hometown of Concord, Massachusetts for not paying his poll tax. It was a fairly low key event; few people knew about Thoreau's arrest when it happened and it was only when he lectured on it two years later that the town of Concord became aware of his imprisonment and the reasons for his arrest.

In 1849, Thoreau published the essay "Resistance to Civil Government". It would be republished 17 years later under the title that it's best known, "Civil Disobedience." Over time, the essay gained fame and notoriety as radicals and reformers read it and were influenced by it; Tolstoy, Gandhi, and MLK all mentioned the influence of Thoreau's words on their writings and actions.

Join Concord public historian Richard Smith as he tells the story of Thoreau's civil disobedience, the reasons behind it, and the consequences of his actions. Why are Thoreau's words more powerful and influential now than they were in 1849? And can civil disobedience effect true social change?

Richard Smith has lectured on and written about antebellum United States history and 19th-Century American literature since 1995. He has worked in Concord as a public historian and Living History Interpreter for 25 years and has portrayed Henry Thoreau at Walden Pond, around the country, and in Canada. He has written eight books for Applewood Books and is a regular contributor to Discover Concord Magazine.