Thoreau objected to tax money being used to pay for which war?

• A. The War of 1812.
• B. The U.S.-Mexican War.
• C. The Civil War.
• D. The War in Afghanistan.

Answer: (B)

Thoreau’s main idea here is that paying taxes to fund government actions you deem unjust makes you complicit in those actions. He argued that individuals should follow their conscience rather than blindly support the state, which is why he refused to pay a tax that would finance a war he opposed. That stance is tied to his Civil Disobedience writings, where he defended resisting laws and taxes that support immoral government choices. The war he objected to funding was the Mexican-American War, a conflict tied to expansionist aims that led the United States to acquire a large swath of territory from Mexico. The other wars listed either happened outside his lifetime or were not the focus of his tax protest, whereas the Mexican-American War is the event he specifically opposed funding.