Disobedience In The Civil Rights Movement

Words: 796
Pages: 4
Open Document
“Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it,” (Howard Zinn). In a democracy, people are allowed to protest their opinions to potentially make a change. America is known as the “land of the free,” meaning freedom for all who reside there. Certain laws can be combated to enforce this title, or may infringe upon it. There are multiple examples of civil disobedience that contain mixed outcomes for protesters. These include the Boston Tea Party, the fights that produced amendments I and IV, and the Civil Rights Movement. One of the most well known acts of disobedience by Americans took place in 1773 when merchants sold smuggled Dutch tea as the British East India Company established a monopoly on tea in America (UShistory.org). Americans refused to …show more content…
In “Jim Crow”). According to PBS, this principle was put into place after Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. In response to these laws, African Americans protested through sit-ins. This form of disobedience became greatly popular during the 1960s where they demanded rights to voting, schooling, healthcare, jobs and reformation (Janken). Rosa Parks and MLK were notorious leaders in this movement. These protests had a positive effect, as segregation has since been destroyed. The fight for African American rights against unjust laws made a great impact to their freedom in society.
The Civil Rights Movement, establishment of religious, press and privacy freedoms, and the Boston Tea Party reflect the great impact that civil disobedience has on a free society. An ongoing pattern between these events was a negative impact on the individuals who made a difference, or heavy costs. However, the final results caused crucial changes that bettered our country. Protesting has taken place throughout history, mostly resulting in change that had been longed
Show More

Related Documents: Disobedience In The Civil Rights Movement

Civil Disobedience In The Civil Rights Movement

disenfranchised minority groups have had doors opened because of their civil disobedience. From the earlier Civil Rights and Women’s Suffrage movements to more recent events like Standing Rock, civil disobedience has proved to play a crucial role in the advancement of minority groups. If not for civil disobedience, people of color and women would not have the rights that are obliged to them today. The Civil Rights movement allowed for people of color to protest their unjust treatment in society…

Words 765 - Pages 4

Civil Disobedience And The Civil Rights Movement

significance. Disobedience is typically regarded with a negative connotation of being anti-conformity; denotative meaning a deviation from societal regulations. However, disobedience is the spark that ignites the wildfire to significant progression as a society. Disobedience is revolutionary, it does not end until a change is made to quell its desire for deviation. Consequently, with deviation of societal norms, progression will advance; through analysis of historical and contemporary societal movements of…

Words 834 - Pages 4

Civil Disobedience: The Purpose Of The Civil Rights Movement

The purpose of civil disobedience isn’t to spark violence, its purpose is to incite change. It may not be successful 100% of the time but in many cases, such as the civil rights movement, the women’s suffrage movement, and the founding of America, people were able to achieve their goals. Overall civil disobedience positively impacts a free society because it allows you to fight for what you believe in, without harming the society you hope to mend. In order for civil disobedience to be successful…

Words 706 - Pages 3

Civil Disobedience: The Black Rights Matter Movement

"It is dangerous to be right, on matters in which the established authorities are wrong." - Voltaire This quote, which was introduced to me by my English teacher, conveys a small piece of civil disobedience; what makes an established authority right and how does that resistance impact society? A government is nothing without people to govern, and any way citizens instigate change has an impact on a free society. Even republics that are considered free have restrictions on freedom, if it negatively…

Words 374 - Pages 2

Civil Disobedience Effectiveness

individual’s rights in the free society claimed to exist in these United States is a right to fight unjust laws. When a nation's statutes interfere negatively with the human rights that have been bestowed upon our brothers and sisters it is our duty as citizens of a free and healthy democracy to protect ourselves and others from the despotism of government. In the absence of national emergency, legislation or executive actions that hinder our ability to express our constitutional rights hold no grounds…

Words 796 - Pages 4

Thoreau's Civil Disobedience

To history, civil disobedience is the driving force that is integral to keeping a free society free. It is in civil disobedience that we find the keys to social change. From Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, one of the first intellectual writings supporting the idea, to the Black Lives Matter movement, and the Women's March on DC after President Trump's inauguration, civil disobedience is found as a prominent theme, a theme that keeps government as the tool to serve the will of the common many, rather…

Words 629 - Pages 3

Carl Cohen's 7 Arguments Against Civil Disobedience

societies evolve based on the premise of civil disobedience. It created bills such as the civil rights acts of the 60s, motivated equality lead by Mahatma Gandhi, and has been the fundamental element of a free society dating back to our founding fathers finding motivation in Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience. Without these upstanding leaders the ideals and morals that shape modern day society would not be prevalent. The practice of civil disobedience does not only positively reform and maintain…

Words 671 - Pages 3

Philosopher John Locke: A Defense Of Civil Disobedience

assertion of civil disobedience is that an individual has the responsibility to defy the laws of the state when the law contradicts certain ideals or proposed rights. Philosopher John Locke explored this relationship between the state and the individual and what emerged was that the universe did have natural laws and they often came in conflict with man-made laws. This sense of natural laws was central to the Declaration of Independence, in which Thomas Jefferson insisted that man had a right to life…

Words 798 - Pages 4

How Does Civil Disobedience Affect Society

Civil disobedience both positively and negatively affects our society. It can lead to both expected and wanted outcomes as much as it can also lead to unwanted, catastrophic outcomes. The impact of civil disobedience really depends on the situation and the opinion of the people. Civil disobedience impacts our society positively and negatively equally. The positive impact of civil disobedience depends on the action of the disobedience, if the action is innocent and does no harm to the people and…

Words 574 - Pages 3

How Did Jim Crow Laws Shaped The Civil Rights Movement?

built on. After the end of the Civil War, and the freeing of the African American slaves, laws were created that stripped their rights that should have be guaranteed. Jim Crow laws were created and enforced to form two separate societies, White and African American. Schools, transportation, water fountains, etc. were all segregated. To put an ended to the injustices in the United States, a remarkable movement began with simple civil disobedience. The Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950's. Groups…

Words 526 - Pages 3