Henry David Thoreau helped define modern environmentalism and nonviolent resistance, yet his life has been obscured by myth.
Henry David Thoreau airs Monday, March 30 from 9 to 11 p.m. and Tuesday, March 31 from 9 to 10 p.m.m on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI and PBS apps.
This new, three-part, three-hour film directed by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers, and executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley, examines the life and work of the 19th-century writer. Set against the political and social tensions of the mid-19th century, the film traces Thoreau’s journey from his early days in Concord, Massachusetts to his deep engagement with the moral crises of his time, including industrialization, slavery, war, and environmental degradation. Through his essays, journals, and landmark works such as Walden and Civil Disobedience, he became an inspiration for generations of writers, thinkers, and activists.