Question

adapted excerpt from
on the duty of civil
disobedience
by henry david thoreau
thoreau wrote this influential essay in 1849 because he was
disgusted with the us government’s refusal to end slavery and
with its participation in the mexican - american war.
the practical reason why a majority are permitted to rule is not
because they are most likely to be in the right, but because they
are physically the strongest. can there not be a government in
which the majorities do not decide right and wrong, but
conscience?—in which majorities decide only those questions to
which the rule of expediency is applicable? why has every man
a conscience, then? it is not desirable to cultivate a respect for
the law, so much as for the right. the only obligation i have is to
do at any time what i think right.
how does it become a man to behave toward the american
government today? i answer that he cannot without disgrace be
associated with it. i cannot for an instant recognize that political
organization as my government which is the slave’s government
also.
all men recognize the right to resist the government when its
tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable. but almost
all say that such is not the case now. but such was the case, they
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select the correct answer.
which statement summarizes thoreau’s rebuttal to a counterargument he mentions in the excerpt?
a. now is not the time to resist the government, because it is not behaving tyrannically.
b. there is more reason to rebel against the government now than there was in 1775.
c. people should not help to stop rebellions in the south or fight in mexico.
d. it is the duty of every american to right any wrong they see in their government.
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Explanation:

Thoreau addresses the counterargument that the current government is not tyrannical enough to justify resistance (not the case now) by stating that the government's ties to slavery (a tyrannical institution) mean the conditions for resistance are just as valid as they were in 1775. This matches option B. Options A restates the counterargument, not the rebuttal; C contradicts Thoreau's call for conscience-driven resistance; D misrepresents his focus on individual conscience over a general "duty to right wrongs".

Answer:

B. There is more reason to rebel against the government now than there was in 1775.