As the government needed money for the Mexican-American War, Henry David Thoreau refused to pay a direct tax for the war. This was his first protest against the government. He thought war was a bad thing, so it was necessary to resist government.  That led to him being put into jail. Although people gave him advice to pay the tax, he still didn't pay it. He didn't fear the government and at the same time inspired other people to join this protest. The night in the jail allowed him to start writing his essay, "Civil Disobedience", In the notes, he talked about the thought process of active, stated refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws or demands, orders of the state, and commands of a government. After twenty years, the notes were printed into a book by the same name, and read by many people, including Martin Luther King Jr.