Civil Disobedience Research Paper

Civil Disobedience has been around for hundreds of years. This a practice first put into play by a man by the name of Henry David Thoreau who believed that if you didn’t agree with a rule then you should act against it in a nonviolent way, and be willing to accept any punishment that comes with it. His teachings were followed by famous activists such as Ghandi, and Martin Luther King Jr., and many others.

“If you make laws to keep us suppressed in a wrongful manner and without taking us into confidence, these laws will merely adorn the statue books. We will never obey them”(1). Mohandas Gandhi expressed this in his writing “On Nonviolent Resistance”. “Civil disobedience” is when people use their voice by protesting, non-violently, to stick up against unjust laws and unjust movements. The truths and values are proven and brought to attention in the writings of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Henry David Thoreau. Civil disobedience can be the solution to unjust laws and violence around the world.

Through time we have been suffering, from excessive force of power and authority, against human rights, and we witness people dying, because of their beliefs to bring changes for future generations and the well of their country. In other words civil disobedience indicates that the main objective of disobedience is to bring changes in the social or political order that would affect the freedom of citizens. This year we witness many

Civil disobedience allows citizens in the free society of the United States to express their opinions in a way that is sure to evoke governmental attention, while enlightening the public

Civil Disobedience is classified as the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. This idea was brought into focus in the essay “Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience)” by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau’s opinion on the subject was that the government was involved in everyone’s business, trying to make the country better yet they had the opposite effect. His opinion was that there is a need to prioritize one’s conscious over the dictates of law. Though there are many things that Thoreau touches on, the three main issues that he discussed were The Mexican war, slavery, and the taxes that he was protesting against.

Throughout the essay, Civil Disobedience, by Henry David Thoreau, he discusses the importance of civil disobedience and on what circumstances it should be implemented. Early in the essay, Thoreau states, “Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them” (Thoreau 7). An unjust law is one that degrades the human personality. Taking action against these laws is justified according to Thoreau. No human deserves to be insulted by a law due to his gender, religion, or color of skin. Another circumstance would be when Thoreau states, “Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it… A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority” (Thoreau 5). When voting is what separates the right from wrong, and the wrong is most definitely to win, then civil disobedience is justified. As Thoreau states, “A wise man”, he is motivating the people to step up and become the wise man. Voting is not enough to make noise, sometimes, taking actions that will make yourself visible is the correct step. Lastly, another example of a circumstance would be when Thoreau states, ““Pay,” it said, “or be locked up in the jail.” …I did not see why the schoolmaster should be taxed to support the priest… However, at the request of the selectmen, I condescended to make some such statement as this in writing” (Thoreau 11). Paying unfair taxes is a crime that definitely deserves attention. Thoreau presents his way of reacting to this by performing an action of nonviolent civil disobedience by not paying the tax, rather writing a letter questioning the taxes. Circumstances such as unjust laws, useless voting, and paying

While growing up, our parents taught us what was right and what was wrong based on their beliefs and views. When we were younger, we were taught to follow and obey those who were older than us and possessed a higher authoritative status. One’s reasoning for being obedient includes: religious beliefs, background, and work ethics. Civil disobedience played a large role in America. Creating protests, riots, and sit-ins, America had many examples of disobedience. In America, we value our rights as citizens and individuals. We have the right to protest as stated in the first amendment of the United States Constitution, which is called Freedom of Speech. According to the Webster Dictionary, civil disobedience is said to be “the refusal to obey government demands or commands and nonresistance to consequent arrest and punishment.” Citizens are willing to accept the legal consequences associated with their disobedient actions. How does the law respond to people who engage in civil disobedience? Fining and jail time are the legal consequences enforced by authority but also there is a trend of change. I believe civil disobedience is justified simply by your own personal beliefs and the rights you attain as a citizen. The law is the law, if you disobey; the authoritative figure is responsible for giving a consequence.

Civil Disobedience is the peaceful act of protesting a law between the civilians and government. Henry Thoreau explains it like this "… honest men to rebel and revolutionize" (page 392). In civil disobedience by Henry Thoreau he is explaining how the government of his time is abusing its power and people and how the people should do as he did and be a civil disobedient when the laws and government are unjust and go against a man's conscience. Thoreau wants the readers to peacefully protest the laws they feel are unjust, be aware of his own conscience, not be a puppet of the government, and not support anything that is of wrong-doing. He tells the readers to act and not just stand by passively or at least stop supporting what they feel is wrong, and I do believe he presents an effective argument for his point, and as accordingly it appeals to the common man.

The core of civil disobedience is an active refusal of certain government demands - whether they be laws, rulings, or mindsets. In practice, people violate unjust laws and accept consequences in order to demonstrate the injustice of said legislation. Often construed as rejection of the legal system, civil disobedience actually the opposite; the belief that government

Boycotts. Labor Resistance. Sit-Ins. Protests. Blockades. Debt Refusals. Tax Resistance. Civil disobedience has been a prominent form of influencing governmental policy and law to accept differing perspectives. Since the birth of the nation–beginning with the Boston Tea Party and continuing into modern movements such as the women’s suffrage–the United States relies on civil disobedience in order to keep governmental growth from becoming stagnant and aiding in the optimization of benefits for its citizens. Civil disobedience is an intentional, non-violent act against the state exercised by those banned from exerting power with the purpose of bringing equality, moral conviction, an upright criminal justice system, and extensive action. Although civil disobedience invalidates governmental authority, it is a necessary trade off for the protection of liberty guaranteed by the first amendment. Civil disobedience, as a recognized procedure, is an obligation for all citizens to combat injustice among legislature.

Civil disobedience is a nonviolent act that allows us to protest against, unjust laws or any policy that people do not tend to agree on. An example of someone that acted on this was, Martin Luther King Junior in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail, was the way that the did protest against human right and oppression, in the lense, Martin shows it and explains that on every act of injusticeness has a negative outcome. The artifact, “Antigone” by Sophocles you can see Antigone fight against the injustice act of burying her brother. In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action” (King Jr., 1). Both of these two uses four major principles, to fight against the importance of unjust laws.

Furthermore, a person who acts with civil disobedience means, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “One who breaks an unjust law… openly, lovingly…, and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. In other words, civil disobedience is respectfully breaking a law that is disagreed with, and then openly accepting the consequence. During the world’s history,

Civil disobedience is woven in our history, women petitioning to congress lead to the 13th and 19th amendments. Walk-outs and sit-ins of the civil rights movement, resisting the Jim Crow laws, lead to the 24th amendment. America’s disobedience and unwillingness to stay silent through unjust laws, this country has progressed. If we would have obeyed, America would not be the world leader it is

Civil disobedience is “the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of influencing legislation or government policy, characterized by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes” (“Civil Disobedience”) and is a technique that is evident throughout history. Commonly, it is seen throughout the world as a means of voicing different opinions and allowing for everyone’s voices to be heard. Peaceful protest to laws and regulations are largely beneficial to the creation of a free society and achievement of equality. Through means of peaceful protest, individuals have the ability to challenge the choices of the government in a manner that is nonthreatening to the safety

Civil disobedience is tantamount to raising the red signal against democracy when the latter deviates from the right course in accordance with the views of exponents. It can be considered as a kind of opposition or rather a very advanced shape of political and social resistance. Civil disobedience is not a commonplace form of political opposition, not because it is a negative form of political resistance, but because it occurs very rarely. It can be regarded as the most sophisticated case of the embodiment of democracy. Therefore, it is difficult if not impossible to imagine a democracy without the freedom of opposition including the right of civil disobedience. Freedom of