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How Did The Civil Rights Movement Impact Society

Decent Essays

The United States of America is one of the freest societies in the world. We have always been, but we have progressively become more free the older our country grew. In less than 300 years, this nation has overcome civil rights of all sorts, most notably ending slavery, guaranteeing women the right to vote, and the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. Many movements leading to a freer society were made possible by civil disobedience, which left a positive impact on society in the long run.
Slavery was ended not all at once, but in large part because of the American Civil War. And as the name implies, it was not peaceful. However, besides the war, many efforts to end the great wrongdoing were made by American people. The Underground Railroad is perhaps the most well-known peaceful resistance to slavery. But individuals performed small acts, although technically not illegal, to do their part to end …show more content…

Susan B. Anthony, who peacefully and simply walked into a voting booth and attempted to vote, was one of the many women who started the push towards suffrage in the early 20th century. She did not even hurt a fly, yet was arrested on the spot, only because she broke a law written over a hundred years prior. And almost every American has heard of Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks, two of the most influential people in the 1960’s civil rights movements. One preached peaceful protest throughout the nation, and the other was part of a powder keg of boycotting and protesting unjust societal features. Around this time, the media played a huge role in the spreading of information. Pictures and videos of the peaceful protests, both being applauded and mocked, spread influence throughout the country, and in what seems like such a short time compared to the age of the United States, people of color had equal legal rights with the white

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