Edward Waldo Emerson wrote that the name should be pronounced 'Thó-row', with the h sounded and stress on the first syllable. But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government.' Pronunciation of his name Īmos Bronson Alcott and Thoreau's aunt each wrote that 'Thoreau' is pronounced like the word thorough ( / ˈ θ ʌr oʊ/ THURR-oh-in General American, but more precisely / ˈ θ ɔːr oʊ/ THOR-oh-in 19th-century New England). Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe,-'That government is best which governs not at all ' and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. .

In 'Civil Disobedience', Thoreau wrote: 'I heartily accept the motto,-'That government is best which governs least ' and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Thoreau is sometimes referred to as an anarchist. Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience later influenced the political thoughts and actions of such notable figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. Thoreau was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attacked the fugitive slave law while praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and defending the abolitionist John Brown. He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay at the same time he advocated abandoning waste and illusion in order to discover life's true essential needs. His literary style interweaves close observation of nature, personal experience, pointed rhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore, while displaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and attention to practical detail. Among his lasting contributions are his writings on natural history and philosophy, in which he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and environmental history, two sources of modern-day environmentalism.

Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry amount to more than 20 volumes. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay ' Civil Disobedience' (originally published as 'Resistance to Civil Government'), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state. Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher.

Book by henry david thoreau