Which transcendentalist was jailed for refusing to pay taxes to support the Mexican War?

• A. Ralph Waldo Emerson
• B. Henry David Thoreau
• C. Margaret Fuller
• D. Louisa May Alcott

Answer: (B)

Transcendentalists emphasize following your own conscience and challenging laws that clash with moral truth. Henry David Thoreau embodied this by refusing to pay taxes that would support the Mexican War, choosing to protest government policy on ethical grounds. He was jailed briefly for this tax resistance, and that experience inspired his essay on civil disobedience, where he argues that individuals should resist and accept the consequences of unjust laws rather than surrender their moral judgment to the state. This act, rooted in personal integrity and nonviolent action, is the defining example among the options. The other figures were prominent writers in the movement, but none is known for a jail sentence over tax protest for the Mexican War.