What does thoreau predict about slavery in america?

There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition of slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is but little slavery left to be abolished by their vote. read more

Thoreau didn't live to see his predictions come terrifyingly true during the aftermath of Reconstruction, when the formal apparatus of slavery was dismantled only be replaced by slavery's substance in the shape of the Jim Crow laws. read more

Thoreau was a radical individualist with a profound distrust of the collective will, however it is expressed. This explains why he was so reluctant to join with abolitionist groups for many years. He was also skeptical of their strategy of trying to abolish slavery through democracy. read more