Biography
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts on July 12, 1817 where he was raised with his siblings Helen, Sophia and John. A brilliant young man, Thoreau graduated from Harvard College (now Harvard University) in 1837. After graduating, Thoreau spent some time working as a teacher, then eventually opened up a school with John. When the school closed, due to an illness his brother had contracted, Henry was forced to work for his father. After college, Henry befriended the writer and fellow Massachusetts native Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson introduced Thoreau to Transcendentalism, a spiritual and intellectual movement of which Thoreau would later become a leader. Emerson became the inspiration for one of Thoreau’s poems titled “Friendship”, in which he writes about love and friendship, and how the two are nearly the same. In 1845, Thoreau built a small cabin on a portion of Emerson’s land known as Walden Pond. At Walden Pond, Thoreau rebelled against the social norms of the time period. He experimented with different lifestyles, such as one with minimal work. While living at Walden Pond, Thoreau eventually started working on his masterwork, Walden (also known as Life in the Woods), a book advocating for closeness to nature. t the time of its release, the work was met with only modest success, but later received more attention. While living at Walden Pond, Thoreau was thrown in jail for refusing to pay his taxes. This experience led him to author the essay “Civil Disobedience” (also known as “Resistance to Civil Government”). In this piece, Thoreau wrote about his political opinions on government, slavery, and the Mexican-American war. He also encouraged his audience to follow their personal conscience rather than government policy. This essay has influenced some well-known reform leaders such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Later in life, Thoreau took up lecturing and often advocated for the abolition of slavery. In 1862, Thoreau succumbed to tuberculosis, which he contracted some years earlier.
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Video Review
https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/eYlm6W1twX7/thoreau/#/
External Resources and Photo Credits
External Resources:
http://www.biography.com/people/henry-david-thoreau-9506784
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/henry-david-thoreau
http://www.thoreausociety.org/life-legacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau
Photo Credits:
Website Background and Book Cover:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden
Henry David Thoreau Picture:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau
http://www.biography.com/people/henry-david-thoreau-9506784
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/henry-david-thoreau
http://www.thoreausociety.org/life-legacy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau
Photo Credits:
Website Background and Book Cover:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden
Henry David Thoreau Picture:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau