Civil Disobedience

In the excerpt from Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience", Thoreau argues that the government must recognize and accept the power of the individual. He states that it is the individuals who are governed that grant power to the government.
He begins by saying that the Americans Government is a tradition and as a tradition it is wrongly accepted as it is. He specifically mention the Mexican War and how it was the work of a few individuals using the government. He argues that the people if asked, would never have consented to the war. Thoreau believes that the government does very little but impede it's citizens. It is the people who keep the country free and he calls for a better government. A government should rely on the conscience of its citizens; citizens should not rely on the conscience of their legislator. A truly good government, according to Thoreau, must have the backing and consent of the governed. The governed must be aware of the power that they hold and be willing to demand that the government progress to a true respect for the individual.
Thoreau concluded in this excerpt that the State will never be truly enlightened and free until it recognizes the individual as "a higher and independent power" that gives the State the only power that it has. He states that this is the battle type of State he can only imagine, because he hasn't seen it yet.