Characters from Civil Disobedience, and Other Essays

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Henry D. Thoreau - This person described himself as a surveyor and also as a schoolmaster, but only part time.

John Brown - This person was the abolitionist who led an armed raid at the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry.

Edward Greely Loring - This person was the U.S. Slave Commissioner who decided to return a fugitive slave to his owner in Virginia.

William Paley - This was the author of Duty of Submission to Civil Government.

Thomas Simms - This person was fugitive slave that was returned to his owner by Massachusetts...
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