Thoreau wrote this essay after spending a night in jail for refusing to pay poll taxes, primarily motivated by his opposition to slavery and the Mexican-American War. His personal experience of choosing imprisonment over supporting what he viewed as unjust policies became the foundation for this philosophical work.

The essay has profoundly influenced leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., who adapted Thoreau's principles of peaceful resistance in their own struggles for justice. Its ideas continue to inspire modern social justice movements and civil rights activists worldwide.

The central argument is that individuals have a moral obligation to resist unjust laws and governmental actions through peaceful means, rather than waiting for democratic processes to effect change. Thoreau contends that personal conscience should guide one's actions above state authority.