Henry David Thoreau, American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher, was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. One of the great protagonists of the &ldquo;American Renaissance&rdquo;, is considered one of the greatest American philosophers of all time. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book <i>Walden</i>, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay <i>Civil Disobedience</i> (originally published as <i>Resistance to Civil Government</i>), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.<br />The short essay <i>Slavery in Massachussets</i>, that today we re-propose for the attention of modern readers, was written by Thoreau as an address delivered at the Anti-Slavery Celebration at Framingham, on July 4, 1854, after the conviction in Boston of fugitive slave Anthony Burns.