Civil Disobedience: Shay's Rebellion And The Whiskey Rebellion

Edward Snowden is responsible for exposing these government secrets. Many call this an act of treason, but it can also be seen as an act of civil disobedience. The most peaceful nature of his rebellion, and the unconstitutional behavior that it consequentially exposed qualify his actions. Although it was wrong of him to escape the consequences of his actions by fleeing to Hong Kong, his actions were ultimately beneficial to the American public. Being spied upon by the government is a direct violation of our right to privacy, and hiding it from the public is wrong as well. From John Cassidy’s article, “Why Edward Snowden is a hero,” he quotes Ellsberg; “‘This wholesale invasion of Americans and foreign citizens’ privacy does not contribute to our security; it puts in danger the very liberties we are trying to protect.’” The act of bringing these facts to light is an act of trying to preserve our liberty, and that’s what civil disobedience is all about.

It is imperative to understand that the United States of America was born through acts of civil disobedience. And because American freedoms are constantly in danger of being encroached on, it is also important that citizens are aware of the worth that civil disobedience can possess. Civil disobedience is when a person or people refuse to obey a demand or restriction by the state that conflicts with higher law and conscience. The act requires that the disobedient one accept whatever may be the consequence of refusing, whether it be imprisonment, moral condemnation, fines, even perhaps death. It should be done when one’s spiritual searching and sense of rightness permit no other response. (Day 65: Disobedient Friends – Quakers and Civil Disobedience) There have been many instances of civil disobedience throughout American history which have had a powerful influence on the legal system and society as a whole.

In the United States Constitution we the people were given a right to freedom of speech. People have taken to this right given to us by the Founding Fathers. But, one problem rises to the top with a right that has so much freedom, civil disobedience. It’s a topic that we are seeing more of in our society today. Civil disobedience is a threat against our free society due to people not taking our laws serious enough.

Would you call the Shays’ followers rebels or freedom fighters? Shay’s rebellion was about American farmers making a riot against state and local enforcement because they couldn’t pay taxes. Although many will argue that they were freedom fighters , nevertheless they were rebels because they wasted their money, they are persuading and convincing other men with false ideas, also they want the break the foundation and demolish the main or central idea of the country.

Civil disobedience is not a new phenomena; it has persisted in America since its beginnings, as colonies of Britain. It was 1765, and Great Britain decided to place a direct tax on the colonies through the Stamp Act. The

Throughout American history are many examples of civil disobedience, and when we analyze the meaning of civil disobedience we realize that without this America would be a very different place. The Boston Tea Party, The Revolutionary War, The Civil Rights Movement are all a few major examples of civil disobedience that have shaped America into the world it is today. Civil disobedience, in a sense, is taking the law into ones own hands when they feel that the laws in place are unjust or unethical and want to change these laws to better ones own life and those of others. Sadly though, there are many lives on this Earth that cannot take the law into their hands, stand up for their rights, and change things for the better, and those lives are the

Civil disobedience even holds a spot in one of the key moments in our nation’s foundation. Prior to the Revolutionary War, the American colonies were taxed without representation on many everyday goods. In 1773, the Sons of Liberty organized a movement to dump tea into Boston Harbor. Standing up to tyranny, men like Paul Revere and Samuel Adams broadcasted their message. It was men like these that brought the message of wrong-doing to the citizen’s front doors. Loyalists, British citizens, and those wealthy enough to not be impacted by this saw this as an act of treason deserving the harshest

Civil disobedience has always been a controversial topic that will never stop being discussed because it is an outlet for citizens to exercise their democracy. Throughout history, there have been a plethora of acts of civil disobedience that have shaped America into the country that it is today. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society because it allows those in authority to see that the rules that are in place are unfair and by doing this, those that are resisting the laws incite positive change in the society that they live in.

Most individuals all throughout the world turn to civil disobedience when trying to stand up for an symbol worthy of protest. In the grand majority of the cases, this sort of rebellion is in defiance of an authoritative persona or a law that has been set in place that individuals do not necessarily agree with.

American thinking has always been different as, we believe, “We are a nation that has a government - not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the earth” (Ronald Reagan) the core of our country was built on the idea that the people control their own destiny. Civil disobedience is the way American’s have shown their unrest, it is the way America continues to be a beacon of hope and freedom. Resisting laws that

Overall, civil disobedience is a concentrated effort to affect change in society. It is enormously important when others infringe upon the human rights of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution. Without the possibility to freely speak and express our discontent with unjust and unfair treatment, we would be subject to the ideals of government officials with no check on their power. The opportunity for the populous to openly disagree positively impacts a free

Civil Disobedience To Free Society Civil disobedience is a natural right Americans were born with. It allows the people to have a voice in the national and local discussion, and in decisions that affects the future. The first and fourteenth amendment were established by the nation's framers to protect that natural right for the future to come. Having a voice is peaceful, caused by no harm, but a lovely push towards the opinion and action against one’s belief. The Women March is a great example, the main idea of the march is to let women's voices be heard, for their rights in reproductive freedom, their rights in religion, racial justices, including immigrant policies.

The most prominent example in our history of using Civil Disobedience to create change is of course, the civil rights movement. What Martin Luther King Jr. did along with millions of other brave souls has allowed major steps towards equality in just

Civil disobedience has been a prevalent topic of debate within the United States and all around the world for centuries. Civil disobedience, by definition, is a form of peaceful protest where the protesters refuse to abide by a certain law or do not agree with a certain tax. This is an extremely positive aspect of the government for the United States and is essential towards preserving the intents of the framers. The refusal to allow peaceful forms of protest would be silencing the first amendment rights towards freedom of speech and expression. But, while this form of protest is extremely positive and necessary, it is not always effective. There are some cases where the protest goes unnoticed because there are not being extreme actions

When you think of civil disobedience, you will most likely also think of Rosa Parks or Henry David Thoreau as prime examples. As a society, we tend to believe that civil disobedience was a way people stood up for what they believed in back in the day. We fail to acknowledge the more recent examples taking place all around us, like with Edward Snowden’s 2013 leak of classified NSA documents. We also assume that now that so many rights have been granted and so many causes have been fought for, civil disobedience is no longer prevalent. However, this mindset is far from the truth. Currently, on a daily basis, individuals still actively oppose the laws they disagree with in hopes of proving a point. Civil disobedience has somehow become the way to express oneself. While it may occasionally be effective, it seems to lead to more disruption than results. Therefore,