What happened when Henry David Thoreau refused to pay his taxes?

What happened when Henry David Thoreau refused to pay his taxes?

Thoreau had already stopped paying his taxes in protest against slavery. The local tax collector had ignored his tax evasion, but decided to act when Thoreau publicly condemned the U.S. invasion and occupation of Mexico. In July 1846, the sheriff arrested and jailed Thoreau for his tax delinquency.

When did Henry David Thoreau refuse to pay taxes?

In 1846, Henry David Thoreau spent a night in the Concord jail after deciding not to pay his poll tax. This tax was collected from every adult, regardless of income. Thoreau had not paid the annual poll tax for six years in protest against Massachusetts’ support of slavery and the Mexican War.

What happened to Henry David Thoreau?

In May 1862, Thoreau died of the tuberculosis with which he had been periodically plagued since his college years. He left behind large unfinished projects, including a comprehensive record of natural phenomena around Concord, extensive notes on American Indians, and many volumes of his daily journal jottings.

How much were the taxes that Thoreau refused to pay?

On his way, he encountered the local sheriff, Sam Staples, who took the occasion to arrest Thoreau for nonpayment of his local poll tax — a rather modest annual levy of $1.50 on every adult male citizen of Massachusetts.

Who got Thoreau out of jail?

At any rate, it is true that Thoreau spent one night in jail for his principled act of tax evasion. He was released the next day after someone (probably his aunt Maria Thoreau) paid the tax for him. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say Constable Sam Staples kicked him out of jail.

What was Thoreau known for?

American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher Henry David Thoreau is renowned for having lived the doctrines of Transcendentalism as recorded in his masterwork, Walden (1854). He was also an advocate of civil liberties, as evidenced in the essay “Civil Disobedience” (1849).

Did Henry Thoreau have kids?

They had four children: Helen (1812–1849); John (1815–1842); Henry (1817–1862); and Sophia (1819–1876).

Is Henry David Thoreau still alive?

Deceased (1817–1862)
Henry David Thoreau/Living or Deceased

Why did Thoreau not want to pay taxes?

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.

Who bailed Thoreau?

The poll tax was levied on all men over the age of twenty. Thoreau was finally jailed overnight for this refusal in 1841 but was bailed out by his relatives who paid his back taxes for him. From July 4, 1845, to September 6, 1847, Thoreau lived alone at Walden Pond, Massachusetts, on a plot of land owned by Emerson.

Why did Henry David Thoreau refuse to pay the poll tax?

During his time at Walden, Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay his poll tax. He withheld the tax to protest the existence of slavery and what he saw as an imperialistic war with Mexico.

Why did Henry David Thoreau refuse to pay his taxes?

TIL in 1846, Henry David Thoreau refused to pay his taxes because he objected the Mexican-American War and slavery. He spent the night in jail for his actions. This popularized the concept of Civil Disobedience, peacefully protesting a law, which later influenced Gandhi, MLK, and Leo Tolstoy.

Why was Henry David Thoreau arrested in Concord?

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.

Why did Thoreau Go to jail in Massachusetts?

“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”).

When did Henry David Thoreau take a leave of absence?

The traditional professions open to college graduates—law, the church, business, medicine—did not interest Thoreau, so in 1835 he took a leave of absence from Harvard, during which he taught school in Canton, Massachusetts.