Question

life will be gone. i have other affairs to attend to. i came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. a man has not everything to do, but something; and because he cannot do everything, it is not necessary that he should do something wrong. it is not my business to be petitioning the governor or the legislature any more than it is theirs to petition me; and if they should not bear my petition, what should i do then? but in this case the state has provided no way: its very constitution is the evil. this may seem to be harsh and stubborn and unconciliatory;¹¹ but it is to treat with the utmost kindness and consideration the only spirit that can appreciate or deserves it. so is all change for the better, like birth and death, which convulse the body.
8 i do not hesitate to say, that those who call themselves abolitionists should at once effectually withdraw their support, both in person and property, from the government of massachusetts, and not wait till they constitute a majority of one, before they suffer the right to prevail through them. i think that it is enough if they have god on their side, without waiting for that other one. moreover, any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one already.
\civil disobedience\ by henry david thoreau (1849) is in the public domain. unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the cc by - nc - sa 4.0 license
¹¹ not intended or likely to placate or pacify
analyzing the author’s point of view: excerpt from “civil disobedience”
unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the cc by - nc - sa 4.0 lic
paragraph 8

1. why does the author believe that abolitionists should revoke their support for the government of massachusetts?

• the author believes that abolitionists should revoke their support for the government of massachusetts because its constitution is morally corrupt, and they have a responsibility to transgress any law or institution that is unjust.

Explanation:

To determine why the author believes Abolitionists should revoke support for Massachusetts' government, we analyze the text. The author states the state's Constitution is "evil" (morally corrupt) and that those with God on their side (righteous) should act against unjust institutions. Also, "any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one", implying moral rightness justifies opposing unjust governance. So the author’s reasoning is the government/institution is unjust (Constitution is evil), and Abolitionists, being in the right, should oppose unjust systems.

Answer:

The author believes that Abolitionists should revoke their support for the government of Massachusetts because its Constitution is morally corrupt (evil), and they have a responsibility to transgress any law or institution that is unjust. Additionally, the author holds that a person who is more morally right than others already constitutes a "majority of one" and should act on their righteousness without waiting for numerical majority.