Jefferson and Thoreau s views on government
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How do Thomas Jefferson's views on government compare with Henry David Thoreau's views? Does Thoreau accept Jefferson's views on the relationship between the government and the governed? There is no doubt that Thoreau's views were shaped by the political thought of Jefferson. Many of the ideas of Thoreau mirror the sentiments expressed by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. However, in some respects, Thoreau's views clash sharply with those held by Jefferson.
According to both Jefferson and Thoreau, a government can be legitimate only if it enjoys the consent of the people it governs. Jefferson says that, "governments are instituted among men, deriving their power from the consent of the governed" (Jacobus, 78). On the surface, Thoreau appears to confirms this view by saying that governments "must have the sanction and consent of the governed" (Jacobus, 164). Thoreau means that in order for a government to be just, it must have the approval of each of its individual component members. In this regard, Thoreau seems to agree with Jean Jacques Rousseau...