Peaceful Protest

Why Peaceful Protest is Beneficial in a Free Society Peaceful Protest and civil disobedience have been a hallmark of change from the early 20th century onwards. Though nonviolent efforts, multiple civil movements have peacefully broken a law in order to protest an injustice of said law. Usually done in a coordinated manner by a large group of people, these protest have been strikingly effective in bettering the systems they have set out to change. Peaceful resistance is therefore one of the most effective ways of protesting and correcting unjust and broken laws, and is a staple of free society. Nonviolence is a necessity in civil disobedience, as it immediately differentiates between civil protests and others. By taking nonviolent
Gandhi preached non violence at all costs, even in the face of harsh British retaliation in several cases. In this method, he created one of the largest protest movements of all time in support of Indian self rule. In his famous Salt March to the sea, Gandhi led hundreds of thousands of Indians in a 250 mile march to the sea against an extremely unjust salt taxation, and against the British rule as a whole. Hundreds of thousands joined, and despite harsh reactions by the British, was completely peaceful on the part of the protestors. This march gained international sympathy, and led to the dismissal of the salt tax by the British. Gandhi was eventually successful in making India self ruling, the entire time devoted to nonviolent methods. In this way, a new democratic society rose up through nonviolent
Martin Luther King Jr. and the 1960s American civil rights protest famously used these tactics successfully to bring about civil equality for African Americans. ONe of the best uses of this was during the Freedom Rides, where thousands of protesters traveled to fill up Mississippi jails in protest of segregated interstate bus travel. The Mississippi jail system was soon overcrowded. The media attention brought by nonviolent protestors being sent to harsh prisons forced the federal government to act, bringing an end to interstate segregation. Similar events happened throughout the civil rights movement, with sit ins and voting rights protests straining the government system and bringing media attention and public criticism of the local governments. This forced the federal government to act, responding to the protestors, and eventually ensuring that their rights were