Provide at least five comments as you read . Then, respond to the questions at the end in complete sentences. (10 Points) Henry David Thoreau Arrested For Nonpayment of Poll Tax - 10 Points Posted on July 14.2012 by Rebecca Beatrice Brooks In July of 1846, while on his way to Concord to run an errand, Henry David Thoreau was arrested by the local sheriff for failure to pay a poll tax. Thoreau, who believed this poll tax supported the Mexican-American war and the expansion of slavery into the Southwest , had stopped paying this tax in 1842 but the sheriff, Sam Staples, failed to take action against him for several years. According to the book "A Historical Guide to Henry David Thoreau,"the poll tax actually had nothing to do with the Mexican-American war and Thoreau's arrest was technically illegal: "Thoreau's jailing was, it seems, an accident, and maybe a legal error.The tax that Thoreau refused to pay was a local one, not connected to the state of Massachusetts or the federal government, and according to one scholar who has studied the issue, it was unrelated to any funding for the Mexican War (Hoeltje, "Misconceptions "}. Another scholar suggested that Staples's action was illegal; Massachusetts law empowered him to lay hold of Thoreau's goods and disburse them to pay debts, but not to place Thoreau under arrest." Thoreau, who was living in his cabin at Walden pond at the time of the arrest , was not the first Concord resident to be arrested for failing to pay this tax. Thoreau's ; friend, Amos Alcott, the father of Louisa May Alcott , had also been for the same reason in January of 1843. After news of Thoreau's arrest spread throughout the town, an unidentified woman promptly arrived at the jail to pay Thoreau's tax . The woman was rumored to be Thoreau's aunt . Maria Thoreau, but she never revealed her identity. According to the book "Henry David Thoreau: A Biography," even though the debt was cleared, Staples didn't let Thoreau out of jail immediately and instead kept him locked up overnight. Much to Staples' surprise though, when he went to let Thoreau out of his cell the next morning, he didn't want to leave. Thoreau had hoped to use his jail time and refusal to pay the tax to raise awareness about the issue of the Mexican -American war and Staples described him as "mad as the devil" when he learned someone had paid his tax for him and he was free to go. The incident later inspired Thoreau to write his essay "Civil Disobedience" in which Thoreau argues for nonviolent, passive disobedience to protest unjust government actions. The essay. which was titled "Resistance to Civil Government" when it was first published in 1849, was

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Provide at least five comments as you read . Then, respond to the questions at the end in complete sentences. (10 Points) Henry David Thoreau Arrested For Nonpayment of Poll Tax - 10 Points Posted on July 14.2012 by Rebecca Beatrice Brooks In July of 1846, while on his way to Concord to run an errand, Henry David Thoreau was arrested by the local sheriff for failure to pay a poll tax. Thoreau, who believed this poll tax supported the Mexican-American war and the expansion of slavery into the Southwest , had stopped paying this tax in 1842 but the sheriff, Sam Staples, failed to take action against him for several years. According to the book "A Historical Guide to Henry David Thoreau,"the poll tax actually had nothing to do with the Mexican-American war and Thoreau's arrest was technically illegal: "Thoreau's jailing was, it seems, an accident, and maybe a legal error.The tax that Thoreau refused to pay was a local one, not connected to the state of Massachusetts or the federal government, and according to one scholar who has studied the issue, it was unrelated to any funding for the Mexican War (Hoeltje, "Misconceptions "}. Another scholar suggested that Staples's action was illegal; Massachusetts law empowered him to lay hold of Thoreau's goods and disburse them to pay debts, but not to place Thoreau under arrest." Thoreau, who was living in his cabin at Walden pond at the time of the arrest , was not the first Concord resident to be arrested for failing to pay this tax. Thoreau's ; friend, Amos Alcott, the father of Louisa May Alcott , had also been for the same reason in January of 1843. After news of Thoreau's arrest spread throughout the town, an unidentified woman promptly arrived at the jail to pay Thoreau's tax . The woman was rumored to be Thoreau's aunt . Maria Thoreau, but she never revealed her identity. According to the book "Henry David Thoreau: A Biography," even though the debt was cleared, Staples didn't let Thoreau out of jail immediately and instead kept him locked up overnight. Much to Staples' surprise though, when he went to let Thoreau out of his cell the next morning, he didn't want to leave. Thoreau had hoped to use his jail time and refusal to pay the tax to raise awareness about the issue of the Mexican -American war and Staples described him as "mad as the devil" when he learned someone had paid his tax for him and he was free to go. The incident later inspired Thoreau to write his essay "Civil Disobedience" in which Thoreau argues for nonviolent, passive disobedience to protest unjust government actions. The essay. which was titled "Resistance to Civil Government" when it was first published in 1849, was

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1. Thoreau was arrested in 1846 for nonpayment of a poll tax, which he believed supported the Mexican-American war and slavery expansion.2. Thoreau had stopped paying the poll tax in 1842, but the local sheriff, Sam Staples, took no action against him until his arrest in 1846.3. The poll tax in question was a local tax, not connected to the state or federal government, and was unrelated to funding for the Mexican War.4. Thoreau's arrest was considered technically illegal, as Staples had the authority to seize Thoreau's goods but not to place him under arrest according to Massachusetts law.5. After Thoreau's arrest, an unidentified woman, rumored to be his aunt Maria Thoreau, paid his tax to clear the debt. However, Staples kept Thoreau in jail overnight, and Thoreau used this time to raise awareness about the Mexican-American war.In complete sentences:1. Why was Thoreau arrested in 1846, and what were his beliefs regarding the poll tax? Thoreau was arrested in 1846 for nonpayment of a poll tax, which he believed supported the Mexican-American war and the expansion of slavery into the Southwest.2. What was the reason behind Thoreau's refusal to pay the poll tax, and how did the local sheriff, Sam Staples, respond to it? Thoreau stopped paying the poll tax in 1842 due to his opposition to its connection with the Mexican-American war and slavery expansion. Sam Staples, the local sheriff, took no action against Thoreau until his arrest in 1846.3. Was Thoreau's arrest legally justified, and what was the nature of the poll tax in question? Thoreau's arrest was considered technically illegal, as the poll tax was a local one, unrelated to the state or federal government, and not connected to funding for the Mexican War.4. Who paid Thoreau's tax to clear the debt, and what happened after the debt was settled? An unidentified woman, rumored to be Thoreau's aunt Maria Thoreau, paid his tax to clear the debt. After the debt was settled, Staples kept Thoreau in jail overnight, and Thoreau used this time to raise awareness about the Mexican-American war.5. How did Thoreau's arrest influence his later work, and what famous essay did it inspire? Thoreau's arrest inspired him to write the essay "Civil Disobedience," where he argued for nonviolent, passive disobedience to protest unjust government actions. The essay was initially titled "Resistance to Civil Government" in 1849 and later reprinted as "Civil Disobedience" after Thoreau's death. It has since been cited as an inspiration to activists worldwide.

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