evidence: For years, the quote was attributed to Henry David Thoreau, who evoked the motto "That government is best which governs least," in his 1849 essay Civil Disobedience. Thoreau argued that individuals should not let governments make them agents of injustice. [...] The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello, "That government is best which governs least. (Spurious Quotation)," Aug. 28, 2014 [...] Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations, "That government is best which governs least," accessed Sept. 21, 2017