That government is better if it doesn't govern at all Henry David Thoreau was an American author, philosopher, and historian. The roots of Thoreau's political views stem from Transcendentalism, a philosophy that became influential in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Transcendentalism rejects the idea that knowledge can be fully derived from experience and observation of the physical world. American Transcendentalism reached its peak in New England in the 1840s, under the leadership of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson argued that while the physical world is important, providing us with necessary goods and frequent beauty, people should live their lives based on truths grasped through reason, not just physical perception. Emerson served As it is, government rarely proves helpful or efficient. It is often "abused and perverted" so much so that it no longer represents the will of the people. The Mexican-American War illustrates this phenomenon. Thoreau's essay is both an abstract work of political theory and a practical, topical work that addresses the issues of the day. On the one hand, Thoreau makes several theoretical claims about the nature of democracy and the relationship between citizen and government. For example, Thoreau argues that government should be based on conscience and that citizens should stop associating with an unjust government. Therefore, Thoreau's work must be regarded as a work of political philosophy, invoking ideals and making claims about the way government and society should be. One of them was Leo Tolstoy who believed in nonviolence when faced with conflict. He stated: “I know that my unity with all people cannot be destroyed by national borders and government orders.” He also believed that the aristocracy was a burden on the poor and that the only solution to the way we live together was through anarchism. Directly influencing another great authority, Mahatma Gandhi, Tolstoy has exerted enormous influence on the nonviolent resistance movement to this day. Both share the opinion that: "In all of history there is no war that was not plotted by governments, only by governments, regardless of the interests of the people, for whom war is always harmful even when successful." Emerson also tried to suggest in his essay “Politics” that the State is not superior to the citizens and that politics and government are created in the interest of its people and property. As a democratic government is of the people, for the people and by the people; therefore citizens must accept that we all want to benefit from the form of government we choose to have. Emerson states that “the moral identity of men” constitutes the roots of government and “morality,” above all, “is the object of government.” However, Thoreau, who was deeply skeptical of political administration, rejects the proposal