Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s civil rights movement once said “Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” This quote considers nonviolence the greatest force and that it is stronger than the physical power of men. In any given situation nonviolent protests are stronger than violent protests. These protests can be as simple as refusing to do your homework or as complex as the civil rights movement. History has shown boycotts, a form of a nonviolent protest, are the most efficient form of protests. Boycotts ability to indirectly harm the opposing side has consistently been effective, as shown in in the Salt March, Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Boston Tea Party, and the Delano Grape Strike and Boycott.
The Salt March is one of the most important events in India’s history, led by Mahatma Gandhi, this was a protest boycotting Britain’s salt laws. These laws banned any civilian from making or selling salt. This protest began with a 240 mile march, which started on March 12, 1930, in Sabarmati Ashram and ended in Dandi. Gandhi led thousands of people on this march, where they performed small acts of civil disobedience to boycott British rule. They made their own salt along their way on this march at various coasts. They did this by simply evaporating salt water. Britain reacted violently towards the Indians. Not only did they arrest over 60,000 participants including
In today's society, the foundation of civil uprisings have been constructed on the principles of both Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.. Even though we are in the 21st century and have overcome numerous events, today we are still fighting the obstacles that both these men had fought during their lifetime. Unfortunately, equality for everyone is still not a concept that has been reached in America, but due to innumerous protests many great outcomes have risen. Both Gandhi and King fabricated a method of non-violent protesting that only benefits the protestors because they give authority no reason to intervene. If authority was interfere against the protest, then the cause would rise in popularity and aggrandize. Although this type of
All through history governments and empires have been overthrown or defeated primarily by the violence of those who oppose them. This violence was usually successful however, there have been several situations, when violence failed, that protesters have had to turn to other methods. Non-violent protesting never seemed to be the right course of action until the ideology of Mohandas Gandhi spread and influenced successful protests across the world. Non-violent methods were successfully used, most notably, by Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela.
One of the most widely known event would be when Mahatma Gandhi employed nonviolent strategies such as hunger strikes and protest marches in order to fight oppression. In 1930, Gandhi started the “Salt March” which was aimed at the British “salt tax”- Taxing on Indian salt so the people would have to import salt from Britain. Indians were unable to both collect and sell salt because of the British salt monopoly in India. The march and hunger strikes eventually led India to independence from the Brits. Gandhi’s success in guiding his country to freedom by conducting nonviolent means has proven civil disobedience and direct action to be
Shakespeare once said, “If it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul.” In the 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter, a young woman named Hester Prynne was just that. Nathaniel Hawthorne tells a story of a young woman named Hester, who commits adultery, and how she struggles to raise a daughter, and keep her lover from judgement. In the Puritan society, honorable sin was not a possibility. Throughout the book, characters deal with consequences for their actions that change their views on how they should deal with problems. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingsworth, the main characters, all have consequences for their sins. In the book sin changes the characters’ personalities, choices, and actions.
Nonviolent movements are widespread across America, but very little are effective enough to create monumental change or to have a lasting impact. In their article "Waging Nonviolence: What makes nonviolent movements explode", Mark and Paul Engler explore what makes nonviolent protests powerful enough to force change. Written in December 2014, the article uses modern and historic examples of protest movements, with the main focus on the Occupy Wall Street movement, to create the context as to what each of the methods discussed has accomplished. Using the main example of Occupy Wall Street, the article showcases two major points, disruption and sacrifice, that nonviolent protest movements utilize in order to have the greatest effect, as well as how those two points work together to create lasting impacts. Disruption relies on interrupting everyday life and preventing business from occurring, while sacrifice focuses on what people are willing to risk and give up in order to see the change they wish for. In their article, the Engler’s propose that while these two methods of protest can be effective, protests rarely become large enough to actually create any change, even if they are combined, simply because the major businesses, corporations, and organizations that are being protested hold incredible amounts of political power and therefore are able to very easily shut down protests with police forces. This argument, that protests are inevitably going to fail, is very realistic
Civil disobedience is possibly the most influential form of protest in order to change of laws. Throughout our nation's history there have been multiple examples where the people would disobey the regular norms of society to force a change in law. Even when we started off as colonist, the people refused to pay unjust taxes on British imported goods just so Great Britain could pay for their costs on the Seven Years' War. The people or the colonist, as I should say, thought it was unfair for the them be taxed as they had no representation in England to represent the people. Another peaceful protest would be the sit-ins at Woolworth. At this event, young African Americans went to a diner and sat at the front counter. This would never happen because
Harassed, beaten, jailed. Three great leaders fought for their rights through thick and thin, without physically hurting the opposition; these men were Gandhi, Mandela, and King. Here they each faced the problem of inequality and achieved their goal peacefully moreover without harm to their oppressors. They drew attention to their respective plights and converted others to help their cause. Nonviolence implies that the participants will protest without the use of harm to their opponents notwithstanding of what harm falls upon them; they will not even raise a hand to protect themselves from said harm. Nonviolence works because King, Gandhi, and Mandela applied economic pressure, performed civil disobedience, and appealed to conscience; which
Just as with Gandhi or Rosa Parks, many view the protestors, standing non-violently for themselves, as criminals, hurting industry, and causing a disturbance for everyday Americans. When business in an already harmful industry becomes more important than sacred sites and potentially human lives, civil disobedience is necessary to spark change.
Similar to protests, rebellions evoke change in the system through peace. If words are not enough, often times citizens take matters into their own hands. The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington are both famous examples. Without violence, the famous bus boycott drew the attention of the Supreme Court. In 1956, the Supreme Court ruled that the laws segregating African Americans on Montgomery buses were unconstitutional; consequently, this was a large victory for the African Americans, and propelled their case for equal rights. In 1963, the world was no so peaceful for African Americans. Violent attacks on peaceful demonstrators were consuming the deep south, and this called for a mass protest march into Washington D.C. This peaceful demonstration drew the attention of John F. Kennedy, and provoked him to pass a federal civil rights bill later that year. The success of peaceful rebellions is explicitly shown through these two examples, which both brought on major changes. Civil disobedience is like a construction site. It is long and occasionally messy, but the outcome that results is without a doubt worth the initial troubles. The refusal to comply with unjust laws is what drives the United
In the letter from the eight Alabama clergymen, they felt as though those protesting should refrain from nonviolent protesting until the court system decides on their matter. The undersigned clergymen issued an "appeal for law and order and common sense," directing it towards the racial problems in Alabama. The clergymen made it clear that they felt, extreme measures in Birmingham will not be the resolution to the Negro community's problem, despite how peaceful they might be. The letter was meant to sound as considerate as possible, despite attempting to strip the Negro community of their first amendment god-given right. The clergymen feel as though it would be better to have have local leaders act on the matter, instead of gatherings
Salt laws taxed the production of indian salt so that the country had to import british salt. Gandhi and his supporters began long march to produce salt and transporting it without paying any tax on it. The British arrested tens of thousand of people, and refused to make any concessions. It was even limited by its failure to win the muslims support. When the campaign began to have long-term effects that weighed against its failure to win its immediate goals. The first instance was inspiring for those who were taking part since there weren’t that many organized before. The second thing is that it announced to the whole world that Indian masses were a force and the British authorities were obligated to negotiate with their leader. The third instance stimulated further, when finally the salt march began to have a tremendous influence on the thinking and strategy of other insurgents such as Martin Luther
Around sixty years ago, the Montgomery bus boycott lead to Montgomery bus integration and thus protester success. Time will only tell if the current civil disobedience protests will lead to protester success similar to their predecessors. In the past, civil disobedience success was treated with uncertainty; yet, now, many years later, the benefits of many protests are seen and praised. If the current acts of protest succeed, they may face initial resentment by many and may be perceived as negative for society. However, if the protests succeed it will be because a majority of US citizens wished it so. Therefore, in the end, the success will likely be viewed like the successes of the Stamp Act boycott and Montgomery Bus boycott. It is a citizen’s right to speak their opinions and their right to be an influence on the government that is purposed to support them. Peaceful, disobedience gives citizens a sense of influence in our society and allows for the voicing of countless ideas and opinions. While many may be irrational and necessary to push away, many have been and may be revolutionary. The United States is a country run for the betterment of its people, and civil disobedience is one of the safest, greatest ways for citizens to have a voice and improve their
Peaceful protest, the respectable act of standing up for what one believes is right. Creating a nonviolent resistance is the most concrete way to persuade the opposing side to listen to the issue at hand. Society can only benefit from civil disobedience, for it is healthy to have a dialogue between the government and its people.
The Story to kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book that took place during the Great Depression. The story talks about a town in Maycomb Alabama with Scout (Jean Louise Finch), Jem Finch, Atticus Finch, Calpurnia their housemaid , and later their Aunt Alexandra Finch Hancock along with the trials and tribulations that they encounter throughout the story in a racist town that is trying to change their beliefs of the people who suffer because of the community of the town.
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