The Role Of Peaceful Resistance In America

Peaceful resistance to laws is one of the strongest and most important foundations of a free society. Countless peaceful demonstrations have been led in the history of the United States, with positive outcomes that have helped shape the country.

Peaceful protests, that is a protest without violence, are a way to try and persuade those in power to enact or not enact a certain law. This is known as acts of civil disobedience. A typical example of this are rallies or protests against something, where people gather peacefully for or against the same thing. People engaging in civil disobedience could also engage in vows of silence, marching, fasting, and many other peaceful ways to stand up against the inequalities or injustices that they are experiencing. The reason that this is done and is important is because the other option is to violently protest or cause more problems. This is not a good way to go about it because even if it comes from a justified place of hurt or anger, it could result in more harm and arrests than are already happening. Even if theses protests or marches get intense, fights breaking out can happen but the goal is always to be nonviolent. The reasons that civil disobedience is seen in such a negative light is because many people equate it to the violent examples. They view it as the people who are violently protesting, getting pepper sprayed and arrested by cops. Even that isn’t a justified opinion because those people getting paper sprayed and arrested often times are

Our right to free speech and to peaceably assemble is protected in the First Amendment, and is something we should take seriously. "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances" (Amendment I). One area of "peaceful resistance" is petitioning to government leaders and taking a stand on what is true and godly. When this is done, people have the opportunity to give government officials a point of view that perhaps they would have never considered

Many people will argue that peaceful resistance to laws and a need for change is unconstitutional, possibly because they believe that the constitution holds true and applies to this day and age. Truthfully, I don’t care what the constitution says and I do not think any of us should take it literally. It’s ambiguous and completely out of date. If the Constitution were applicable to any other time than when it was written, we would not need peaceful resistance. We would not have needed to “peacefully resist” things like segregation, slavery, or inequality. Because the laws of this country and many other countries have a tendency to be oppressive, unfair, and unfavorable towards minority groups, peaceful resistant is not only positively impactful,

Thomas Jefferson clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Exactly what Jefferson meant by Liberty in this statement was unclear and has been subject of great debate over the years. There is further examination of the use of the word Liberty in the U.S. Constitution. It was stated in Amendment I, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Therefore, by Constitutional law, it is legal to exercise ones right of peaceful civil disobedience. I believe peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society. This is due to the fact that it exercises the rights we are given in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Two documents that run, support, and are the foundation or our nation.

Peaceful resistance positively impacts a free society, particularly in a Democracy such as the United States. Abraham Lincoln famously described our national foundation as a “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, and for such a statement to be true, it is necessary that voices of US citizens be heard.

But I also think that at certain times peacefully resisting can negatively impact our community. For one, a lot of the times "peacefully" resisting is not all that peaceful. Many riots have been started over various things people don't like. When this happens, a person is imposing their rights on another individual. The other individuals rights have been neglected and trampled. Another thing is, what if the law is put there to help people? If a law is in place to help fellow humans, such as laws stating all men and women are equal regardless of color, or that slavery is illegal, then why protest against that law? Were we not created the same? Were we not all born here on this earth in the same way? Aren't we the same on the inside, if not the outside? If the law is to help another human in need, and it doesn't contradict our current laws and freedoms, then you don't need to protest just because you don't like what the law has to say. Even if protesting does positively impact the community, protesting should be kept to a minimum. We can't go protesting willy nilly over every single little thing. Protesting can become a form rioting and doing anything that is rude or

Back in 1791, after years of controversy between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the Framers added the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution. Included in this addition was the First Amendment. More specifically, the right to protest. America is known as “the land of the free,” a democracy that is ever changing to suit its progressive societal needs. Americans have the right to inflict change and address their concerns by resisting. Resistance is defined as “the refusal to accept or comply with something” (Dictionary.com). Americans have the right to confront issues. This “refusal to accept” an issue is an immeasurable energy and freedom that is unique to the American people. Due to the themes of democracy, freedom, and constitutional intentions, peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society.

In this day and age, peaceful protests against opposed laws has become a centralized right as an individual. It has become a popularized form to oppose laws imposed by the government. Many take to the streets in protest to continue to take part of the government in order to allow for their voices to be heard. However, if resistance becomes violent and threatens the safety of other individuals, it also threatens the original message being portrayed. It is the people of the United States that make up the government and gives the government its power. This is clearly stated in the first three words of the constitution and will continue to be upheld for as long as there is a United States of

Peaceful resistance in the United States of America, done with the right intentions, has a positive impact of a free society. I hold this belief because as humans we can be flawed in our ways of thinking and require something to draw our attention for us to realize our flawed views. Peaceful resistance is positive because it draws attention to an issue in society, it communicates a level of civility, and it attempts to initiate a positive way of addressing issues in society.

Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts our free society. It allows us to make our voices heard and spread a message if there is a law that we find is either unfair or goes against our protected freedoms. Peaceful resistance has helped our country grow on multiple occasions. It has always been a part of our countries history and is well protected by our First Amendment rights. Due to this, There is little to know doubt that peaceful resistance has positively effected the lives of many Americans.

The word resistance holds a negative diction in todays society. Resistance is seen as a taboo thing to many people because it means raising your voice when it is quiet and it is know that many don't like the noise. However, peaceful civil resistance has made a change throughout history. Although many feel like peaceful resistance is detrimental to a free society one cannot avoid the fact that does make a society more aware of issues pending in the country.

I believe that peaceful resistance to laws is a subject that is not just black and white, but it is a grey subject where in some instances it has a positive impact and in other occasions it has a negative impact. Our country was established because of resistance to laws, it was not peaceful but it did have a positive effect. Also during the Civil War there was a positive impact from a non-peaceful resistance to laws. Some of our law and amendments have been changed because of peaceful resistance but, Peaceful resistance to laws can bring about a lot of commotion. Also, breaking the law, to change the law is not exactly the way to go about it. There measures American citizens can take to change a law or an amendment they believe is unjustifiable.

Peaceful resistance is a major part of American history, from the American Revolution to the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement to the Travel Ban protests of today. These instances of peaceful resistance shape American society for the better, as the voices of minorities are heard and unjust laws are ended. Peaceful resistance does positively impact a free society, as supported by Henry Thoreau, demonstrated by the 1960 Civil Rights Movement, and anticipated by protests of today.

Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society. Rather than having violent movements and harming citizens, it is better to peacefully resist. Once a violence is used, the resistance to the law becomes nulled. People tend to not follow a violence protester. Once a violent riot starts, chaos is everywhere. People forget what they are truly fighting for. They unconsciously run away with the fear of getting harmed and dare not to go back. A peaceful resistance on the other hand leads citizens to join and support. People are able to see what they are fighting for and their real intentions. They are able to stand and cause no problem to people passing by as they are showing their support through silent voices. Many famous activists and leaders are for nonviolence. Mahatma Gandhi, a primary leader of India’s independence