Disobedience And The Social Movements Of The Civil Rights Movement

Civil Disobedience is defined as refusal to obey civil laws or decrees, which usually takes the form of direct action (Grolier’s Encyclopedia Online 2). Thoreau wrote that people practicing civil disobedience, break a law because they consider the law unjust. People want to call attention to its injustice. Thoreau voiced civil disobedience as, “An expression of the individual’s liberty to create change” (Thoreau 530). Years later Martin Luther King Jr. took the same idea of direct action to protest the injustices brought upon black Americans in the United States. One major example was the Birmingham bus boycott. Blacks where treated unjust and often had to give up their seats to whites, and had to listen to racial slurs made by the bus driver. King like Thoreau, did not take a violent approach, he often used sit-ins and rallies to unite the black community (Encarta

Civil disobedience has been shown in a great amount of different ways throughout the years. Martin Luther king Jr. expressed his way of civil disobedience by taking direct action but in a calm way which was effective. He wanted the people to be aware of what was going on and open doors for better groups of people who weren't given the same rights as others. Henry David Thoreau on the other hand took action as well but in a different manner directly with the U.S. citizens and government because he wanted more individual rights for the people. Both had the same ideas but took action in different ways and at the end, ended up succeeding in their persuasive ways.

In Thoreau 's essay Civil Disobedience he makes the point that bystanders are just as bad as criminals and that people should stand against unjust crimes even if it means going against the law. And to some extent I do agree because in the past people have broken unjust laws and have created change. A well-known example would be when Rosa Parks sat on the bus in the "White-only" seating area, which lead to important events that helped push the Civil Rights movement forward. But I think that it depends on which laws they choose to break and how far they choose to go with it.

Civil disobedience is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "a refusal to obey governmental commands especially as a nonviolent means of protest."(Jacobus) We can see an example of this in U.S. history, when this theory was applied during the Civil Right Movement. The laws back then restricted African Americans from being able to attend public schools or use public restrooms that were designated as "white only." Even though they had paid taxes like everyone else, these types of segregation laws targeted minorities and made them second-rate citizens. Martin Luther King, who was sincere in exposing

There are many examples of civil disobedience. One of which is the story about Cesar Chavez. Along with how he stated The United Farm Workers

Civil Disobedience is remarkably effective without the violence that many had thought necessary. Several famous examples include the Salt March of Mahatma Gandhi, the Civil Rights movement of Martin Luther King Jr., and even the sit-ins of the factory workers during the industrial revolution. Although, many still argue that civil

Civil disobedience in the United States of America got its start with events like Shays’ Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion. While Shays’ Rebellion hinges a bit more on insurrectionism than the Whiskey Rebellion did, they still serve similar points. Daniel Shays thought that the government’s tax collection and unwillingness to pay Revolutionary War veterans pensions was a violation of their civil rights so they

Civil disobedience still has the same meaning it had before throughout all these years. It 's been relevant before and is more so now especially in our own country and in literature. On the news, you see protests hopping over civil rights like in Ferguson and with the bringing down of the confederate flag by Bree Newsome. Martian Luther King’s “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” show what they did and why they did it. They did what they had to do because they believed it was the right thing and it changed history and our own lives.

However, in the modern day, civil disobedience has been used to protest in different ways. One of the most recent examples is the sit-in that happened on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in June, 2016. Several members of the Democratic party organized the sit-in to push for gun control laws to be implemented. While the members were not being oppressed, the sit-in certainly brought attention to the issue and showed the power of civil disobedience. While their actions were not entirely illegal, the sit-in halted government progress for over a day and did raise awareness to their cause, much like the civil disobedience demonstrated by Rosa Parks and MLK

Civil disobedience has been responsible for some of the most important steps forward in our nation's history, and will continue to be a positive force for change well into the future. The greatest example of this came during the Civil Rights movement. Beginning with Rosa Parks' gallant stand on the bus in Montgomery, the Civil Rights Movement was a perfect example of the power of standing up against

The history of African-Americans has come a long way through the years. They were first imported as slaves as property to do hard labor for their owners. With no freedom, they were forced to obey orders until a revolution appeared. It took a civil war to finally free blacks and to give them the right to be citizens of the country. It was then that the chains of slavery were finally broken, but the chain of discrimination still existed. Under racial segregation, colored people were not allowed to share public facilities and activities with white people. The Civil Rights Movement was then established with its goal to clear any segregation and discrimination against African Americans. In today’s society, discrimination has been banned, but a degree of segregation still exists in our community such as schools. Segregation has not yet ending. The civil disobedience of African-Americans can be examined be looking at its origin, the consequences they had to overcome, and the outcome after their fight to be equal.

During the civil rights movement, one of the main ways that MLK Jr. fought to find equality was to peacefully resist laws. During the women's suffrage movement, a way the National Women's Party (NWP)pushed to have their equality was to peacefully protest laws. Civil disobedience positively affects society because this form of protest gives citizens an outlet to try and bring great change to our society. These great changes brought to our society through disobedience help to ensure that the basic right to equality, guaranteed by the Constitution, is achieved on a day to day basis. Civil disobedience is an amazing ideal because of the power the ideal holds.

In 21st century United States, the American society has continue to push the idea of social acceptance. From the mid-1900s to now, anti-racist and and anti-sexist agendas (among other things) have advocated for equal rights and representation through protesting. But now, with their ability to make an equal impact on American society, I am led to conclude that civil disobedience in the form of protesting is unacceptable due to the basic principles of the social contract and legislative representation.

¨Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless or corrupt.¨ This was once stated by Mahatma Gandhi one of the leaders of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is a refusal to obey the law as a way of peaceful protest and be alright with serving the consequences. Civil disobedience a hotly debated topic some believing that it is affective and some believing it is not. I believe civil disobedience is effective, because it makes opponents look bad, also civil disobedience gets results, and last but not least uses less violence than regular war.

A great era for civil disobedience in the United States of America, would have to be the 1960’s. It was a time for figureheads, such as Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr., to sprout up and be acknowledged by history. Now known as the civil rights movement, people