Examples Of Civil Disobedience

On July 4th, 1776 the thirteen colonies declared Independence from England. The Actions and Laws that I will address in this DBQ led to the revolution of the the thirteen colonies. Two British laws that caused this were the Intolerable Acts which punished the colonists for the outcome of Boston Tea Party which was when the Sons of Liberty boarded British ships and dumped chests of tea into the Boston Port, and the Stamp Act which was when the British placed a tax on all stamps. The action the colonists took was that they stripped, tarred, and feathered British soldiers and they also started to rebel against the taxes.

Civil disobedience, which is when a person or a group of people protest against laws, taxes, etc. in a peaceful manner, has been displayed many times in the past. One of these instances included a memorable American event: the Boston Tea Party. During the Revolutionary War (1770s), Britain had colonization of America, commonly referred to as the Thirteen Colonies. The British East India Company, who performed commerce with Asia, were having monetary issues, so they needed to find a way to get revenue. In May 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, which gave the BEIC a portion of the American tea trade. However, this act did not put colonists at ease, because even the cheapest sellers could have lost business to the company (who now had better

The Transcendentalism movement raised self-confidence; it made you believe in what you thought was right, and to not conform with the things around you. It is the spiritual unit of all forms of being, with God, Man, and Nature all sharing a universal soul. The movement developed in New England around 1836, Henry David Thoreau was a leading figure. He wrote “Civil Disobedience” in 1848, it embraces the need to emphasize one's conscience over the command of laws. From the government, the men, a man’s duty, the wrongs of majority, to the unjust system. He strictly states that a nonviolent rebellion is the best way to revolt. The Transcendentalists ideal in Civil Disobedience in nonviolence, three ways Thoreau clearly demonstrates these ideals are through Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

Though many laws were passed taxing the colonists, America had no say in the British Parliament. Patrick Henry’s speech embodies this argument when he says “We have no representatives in the British Parliament…… The Stamp Act is against the law. We must not obey it” (Doc. 1). This act of defiance caught the colonists’ attention and made them feel that perhaps they could change the laws after all. Another act of defiance against the British was the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party was a riot against the British that involved colonists dumping tons of tea from British ships into the sea. Britain then passed a law that said that the Boston Harbor would be closed until the colonists paid for the tea. This angered the colonists even more, and eventually led to the Revolution. As you can see, many rebellious deeds inspired the colonists and helped them confront the British.

Perhaps the most famous example of this idea is not an event, or an action, but a man, Martin Luther King Junior. In the 1960’s, King fought for an end to segregation, voting rights, and economic autonomy for blacks in primarily in the Jim Crow south but, at times, in the north as well. Martin Luther King Junior embodies the idea of refusing to follow unjust laws. From sit-ins, in which he and his followers feared beatings by residents every day, to even being sent to jail for refusing to accept the status quo in Birmingham, similar to Thoreau, King showed that when individuals throw their bodies in front of the machine, even facing the possibility of being crushed, the gear will stop grinding

Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks are two examples of a historical heroes. According to Biography.com, “Through his activism and inspirational speeches he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the United States, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” In other words, King did not sit all day and watch African-Americans get treated unequally, due to the color of their skin. He took action and stood up for what he believed in. This took a great deal of courage and determination because, people involved in these peaceful protests, suffered from violence and harassment. Additionally, Rosa Parks is a prime example of a hero who not once lacked

Thoreau displayed non-conformity many times throughout the play. He challenged many standing traditional values of the time including the workplace, religion, and government. Thoreau did not pay his taxes, give to the church or, work for anyone. He was a true transcendentalist figure of the time and pushed people to think deeper than just surface level. One example of Thoreau displaying non-conformity is by him rejecting to pay his taxes.

In history, the wars and revolutions of countries have begun with rebellions and those in the rebellions fighting back. Those rebellions are often a response to tyranny and unjust demands from the government against their subjects. After the colonies had settled themselves into the new land, the British became greedy for more money and power. They began to pass Acts after Acts that taxed the colonies on many everyday things like paper, tea, sugar, etc. and even forcing the colonies to keep British soldiers in their houses and feed them. These actions from Britain made the colonies feel like the king of England did not treat them like adults and it angered the colonists. The colonists were outraged at how the British were taxing them, and how

The story of Rosa Parks is an excellent example. In 1955, when segregation in America was the common practice, african americans were forced to sit in the back of the bus. Rosa Parks had been sitting where she was supposed to but they still asked her to move so they could make room for the white men. When they told her to move, even though she was sitting where she was supposed to, she did not. In that moment, she had two choices, to move or to stay. By moving, she would have quietly allowed their oppressive and discriminatory ways continue. By staying, she sparked an entire revolution that ended segregation between black and white Americans.

While growing up, our parents taught us what was right and what was wrong based on their beliefs and views. When we were younger, we were taught to follow and obey those who were older than us and possessed a higher authoritative status. One’s reasoning for being obedient includes: religious beliefs, background, and work ethics. Civil disobedience played a large role in America. Creating protests, riots, and sit-ins, America had many examples of disobedience. In America, we value our rights as citizens and individuals. We have the right to protest as stated in the first amendment of the United States Constitution, which is called Freedom of Speech. According to the Webster Dictionary, civil disobedience is said to be “the refusal to obey government demands or commands and nonresistance to consequent arrest and punishment.” Citizens are willing to accept the legal consequences associated with their disobedient actions. How does the law respond to people who engage in civil disobedience? Fining and jail time are the legal consequences enforced by authority but also there is a trend of change. I believe civil disobedience is justified simply by your own personal beliefs and the rights you attain as a citizen. The law is the law, if you disobey; the authoritative figure is responsible for giving a consequence.

Civil disobedience in a free society is a necessity that must remain if the ideals of freedom, democracy, and justice are to be upheld. The original idea of civil disobedience, popularized by Henry David Thoreau, was to peacefully disobey the government, in response to unjust laws, and to accept the consequences fully with no resistance, offering oneself as a martyr to advance the cause of liberty. Without the courageous individuals who offered their lives and liberty to the causes they support, our society would not have progressed to the liberties that we have been granted today. The arguably most progressive century history has recorded, the 20th century saw some of the most influential and famous examples of civil disobedience such the "Tank Man",

Civil Disobedience is classified as the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. This idea was brought into focus in the essay “Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience)” by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau’s opinion on the subject was that the government was involved in everyone’s business, trying to make the country better yet they had the opposite effect. His opinion was that there is a need to prioritize one’s conscious over the dictates of law. Though there are many things that Thoreau touches on, the three main issues that he discussed were The Mexican war, slavery, and the taxes that he was protesting against.

Perhaps, the most well known of these was Martin Luther King Jr. MLK was about gaining equality and human rights for African Americans, but doing so in a peaceful way; that’s why so many people admired him and what he preached. He led many campaigns throughout much of the 1960’s which began to slowly gain results. One of the major things MLK and his followers were campaigning for was a civil rights bill to be passed. Many walks, rallies, and protests were held in order to get then president, John F. Kennedy, to propose the bill and have it pass. In the year of 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama the climax of the civil rights campaign was reached, forcing JFK to commit to proposing a civil rights bill. However, because of how big and radical this campaign was, MLK was arrested and made to spend the night in a Birmingham jail. There he wrote a letter in response to an advertisement from white clergy asking him to shut down the campaign. In the letter, MLK explains why African Americans were campaigning for this and that they wouldn’t stop until they achieved what they had been working so diligently for (13). As a result of the campaign in Birmingham and the letter MLK had written, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. The act banned public and private discrimination against African Americans and any other racial, ethnic or minority group. It also banned excluding someone from a job or a public

The history of American, non violent, civil disobedience depicts how peaceful resistance can shape public opinion, voice dissent, and change unjust laws. In both Contemporary and past history do we see the role that protest has on our Democracy,and how dissenters, such as Susan B Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr, can become American heroes. The United States was founded on an act of civil disobedience, and even in Modern America, principled dissent has become the highest form of

Throughout American history, from the time of our nation's creation all the way to today, citizens have affected serious change in the United States' laws and morals through civil disobedience. Their courage in standing up to injustices of the society they were mired within fundamentally affected their community and country in the best possible way.