Civil Disobedience

"On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" Excerpt

Work Time

Antigone is an early historical example of a situation where a person chose purposefully to disobey a law of the state because she believed it to be unjust and morally wrong.

Two well-known examples of writing from American history that address the issue of unjust laws include:

  • Henry David Thoreau’s seminal essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience”
  • Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

In this lesson, you will begin reading Dr. King’s “Letter.”

  • But first, with a partner, read and annotate a brief excerpt from Thoreau’s essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” for unknown words and places of confusion.