Civil Disobedience | Glossary

abolitionist: (n) person who supports an end to, or abolition of, an unjust practice. In the United States before the Civil War, the term abolitionist referred specifically to a person who supported ending American slavery.

allegiance: (n) loyalty to a cause or a governing body

aloof: (adj) apart from, unfriendly, or distant

civil: (adj) relating to the ordinary (nonmilitary) citizens of a state

civil disobedience: (n) refusal to follow a law or government demand as a form of protest and to achieve a social goal

conscience: (n) inner sense of right and wrong

egalitarian: (adj) relating to the idea that all people deserve the same rights and opportunities

expediency: (n) practicality and convenience at the expense of being moral and right

lyceum: (n) hall or building in which public meetings and lectures are held

machine: (n) apparatus, with multiple parts, created to perform a certain function; machine can also refer to a group of people acting together for a common cause (e.g., soldiers as a "war machine")

poll-tax: (n) fixed-amount tax all adults in a community pay, regardless of income, and often a requirement for voting; the poll tax was used in several American states until its abolition in 1966

posse comitatus: (n) group of individuals who work as law enforcement, usually armed

redress: (v) remedy or set right

State: (n) organized political community under one government; Thoreau frequently capitalizes the word State to refer to a government with power and a capacity for violence

subjects: (n) people under the authority and protection of a government

Union: (n) the United States of America (the Union)