Preview

Civil Disobedience Papers

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
514 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Civil Disobedience Papers
Civil Disobedience

Many people think that civil disobedience is simply a way of expressing your opposition to a law through a publicity stunt. However, civil disobedience is much more than this. Civil disobedience leads to a more positive society where people can feel open of expressing themselves against unjust laws or actions of government. The action of civil disobedience makes a free society where, in Adlai Stevenson’s words, people find it more “safe to be unpopular”.
Without civil disobedience we would still have many unjust laws in place. The United states wouldn’t even be a nation without civil disobedience. Acts of civil disobedience such as the civil rights movement contributed to the rights of many and without it many people will be living under oppression and segregation. Without these acts of civil disobedience people would not be in a position to express themselves and how they feel.
In Morris I. Leibman’s “Civil Disobedience:A threat to out law society” he tells how “specific disobedience breeds disrespect and promotes general disobedience”. This may possibly be true however, the implication of civil disobedience leads to so much more than “general disobedience”, its
…show more content…
Protesting gains much more support, media coverage, and recognition from government officials. In Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” he explains how civil disobedience is more influential than anything else when he says, “Cast your whole vote, not a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence.” He also states, “I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government”. In this quote he explains how a better government can be achieved when the citizens of a nation take action and stand up for unfair acts of the government by civil disobedience. When the citizens of a nation stand up for what they think is wrong they are “men first, and subjects

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    All American citizens give up some of their personal liberties for the good of society: it is the basis of the constitution and every law. When citizens feel a law is unjust, they have two options: follow it or fight it. While the usual method of fighting it involves legal challenges or petitioning legislators, civil disobedience has achieved much notoriety after its famed success during the Civil Rights movement. The Framework for a Free Society describes a free society as one in which government “is constrained by the rule of law under which every individual and entity is treated equally.” A free society stresses toleration and respect of differences in belief and culture. Thus, peaceful resistance positively impacts a free society as it…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Without civil disobedience it’s impossible to see where we would be today. The first act of civil disobedience was the Boston Tea Party. On December, 16, 1773 the group Sons of Liberty created a political demonstration against the Tea Act. The Tea Act was an unfair tax used to make us pay for their war. This is one of many times we were treated differently and unfairly than citizens living in Britain. The act of throwing tea into the harbor ignited tension for more people to protest and overthrow the…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The idea of civil disobedience brings much controversy when it’s being discussed. Many distinctive perceptions have been made regarding the topic, but a substantial amount of people have seen Henry David Thoreau’s assumption in his essay, Civil Disobedience. In his essay, Thoreau theorized, “That government is best which governs least.” The population of the United States is politically divided due to the fact that different groups and cultures of people have conflicting viewpoints on topics like these. Some of the population agrees with Thoreau, that there should be a more just government that what exists. Recently, there has been an uprising in the nation due to a protest made by a football team. Many people of America are debating the meaning…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This country has a rich history of civil disobedience. In fact, the men who founded our country used civil disobedience to protest against unjust laws that they felt threatened their future and the future of generations to come. Tim DeChristopher used civil disobedience to stop the auction of oil and gas leases being held by the BLM. Mohandas Gandhi used nonviolent resistance against the British who occupied India. While Henry David Thoreau not only used these methods of nonviolent protest, he actually helped to define criteria of what is to be considered civil disobedience.…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Disobedience is a very controversial topic due to the fact that history represents such a wide range of extremities of this ideology. Disobedience can be perceived in many different ways and it can either help or destroy the structure of society. An example of disobedience in society that has proved very successful in the past is civil disobedience. Throughout history, civil disobedience has made a huge impact on the U.S. government and is responsible for several popular social reforms. Many of the world’s most inspirational leaders used civil disobedience to reconstruct society and develop remarkable social change. Examples of these leaders include Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, and Rosa Parks. These people were able to…

    • 1780 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    It becomes a kind of despotism where we seek to silence rather than engage.” Civil disobedience is a necessary part of free society, as it provides an avenue from which all people can make themselves heard, regardless of political power or economic status. Furthermore, it is necessary to keep the spirit of the first amendment alive, as peaceful protest is a way in which people exercise their right to free speech; without peaceful resistance to laws, little progress would be made in a free society, and the views of the majority would be imposed on the rest of the population. Acting as a catalyst for change, peaceful resistance one ingredient of the recipe that drives a free nation towards growth and…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil disobedience is one way to stabilize communities. Although some have argued the valid point that if you disobey a law whenever you disapprove of it” it can lead to anarchy, with people ignoring laws. In other words, if nobody follows the laws, what's the point of them? The matter of the fact is, everybody doesn’t disobey laws. If you look around today’s society, most people abide by laws and “while many … may be morally justified in disobeying, few ……

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Peaceful resistance to rules and regulations among society goes down historically as something so inevitably iconic as an occurrence known as civil disobedience. It is no doubt that civil disobedience, the act of opposing a law deemed unjust and peacefully disobeying it henceforth, spurs such great controversy in our society. Civil disobedience impacts society in a positive manner that does not hinder nor deteriorate the good name of the just nation that is home, but moreover poses as an influence for what is better accepted by humans as lawful.…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil disobedience is a key part of the rights that all Americans now have. Civil disobedience allows for the people to take a stand against rules and regulations that they do not agree with. From movements such as ending slavery, women voting, and racial equality, civil disobedience was a major factor in getting the attention of those who had the position to make a change. Rosa Parks wouldn't give up her seat on a bus, which brought national attention to rising concerns of racial equality in the 1950s and 1960s. Martin Luther King Junior held many rallies and marches to make his point well known, and impossible to ignore by the people who had the power to change the laws of the day. From as far back as Harriet Tubman, who helped slaves…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For instance take the Womens rights movement, what harm in history did this event bring forth, the answer is nothing. The Womens’ right…

    • 1218 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey laws in hopes of changing government laws or policies. Civil disobedience has changed many unjust things for different groups of people it was a major key during…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil disobedience will always positively impact a society that calls itself free, because a free society must allow for dissent. Peaceful resistance to law creates dialogue between people on both sides of the issue.…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    History will reveal the major part civil disobedience has played on overcoming governmental injustices. Today, people know Gandhi’s Salt March to Martin Luther King’s demonstrations. Gandhi’s actions helped gain India’s its independence and King’s tactics were instrumental in winning rights for black people in the United States. Others situations include the successful protest of 1998 rioters in Indonesia against the despotic system of government under the Suharto regime.[3] In the US during the early 1900s strikes organized by mistreated workers led to the introduction of labor unions, end of child labor and improved job benefits.[4] Those in the opposite mindset believe that civil disobedience is counter-productive and that the court system should combat unjust laws. However what all these causes listed above has in common was that, “there was no other avenue open to redress grievances” making civil obedience the only way to protest…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout history there have been numerous groups protesting against government laws. Take, for example, Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt March, Martin Luther King’s Civil Rights Movement, and the Women’s Rights Movement. What do all of these significant events have in common? They are all acts of nonviolent civil disobedience that have drastically altered society’s moral code. Each of the movements mentioned had a purpose of ensuring that the group they are representing has an equal opportunity and an equal access to their country's rights as others. However, still many people in a free society believe acts of civil disobedience are unjust and harmful to people within society; though, more often than not, these groups object to an injustice in hopes of correcting and feel their actions are essential to the development of society.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Woman's suffrage was made possible with the use of civil disobedience. Segregation laws were abolished with the use of civil disobedience. Same- sex marriage was accomplished with the use of civil disobedience. All these examples make up one answer; Civil disobedience does positively impact a free society.…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays