In the context of this excerpt from “Civil Disobedience” by Henry Thoreau, what does the word posterity mean?

This American government—what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity? It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will. It is a sort of wooden gun to the people themselves.

being remedied
a flawed government
future generations
a type of pest or vermin
a stubborn person

In the context of this excerpt from “Civil Disobedience” by Henry Thoreau, the word posterity means future generations.
He says that the American government is trying to survive in order to transmit itself to future generations, the ones which will follow.

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MsEducated MsEducated · Answer 2 · 2018-07-18T13:36:48+02:00

The correct answer is C, future generations.

The word posterity means a person's descendants or the future generations of a people.

In this exceprt, Thoreau is saying that America's government is a tradition that is trying to pass itself down unimpaired to posterity -- meaning that this democracy is trying to move unharmed into the future.

Thoreau continues this idea by indicating that it is impossible for this government to pass unharmed into the future because "a single man can bend it to his will." This government, then, will change and bend as it moves into the future.