Thoreau

"That Government is best which governs least." These were some of the first words in Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" Thoreau believed that in many cases that, similar to the theories of Emerson, the Government, and society in general was there to put down individualism and breed conformity. Wanting to "Live deliberately" Thoreau put his money where his mouth was in regards to his theories, and went off and lived in the woods for a year.

He also writes in "Civil Disobedience" that a citizen should not follow unjust laws. He follows through with this philosophy by refusing to pay poll taxes.