Freedom of speech is a constitutional right for Americans, and exercising civil disobedience is protected under the constitution for this reason. Freedom of speech was included in the constitution to reduce overarching governmental power by disallowing them to silence the citizens of the United States of America. By the same token, if peaceful protests were outlawed, it would be unconstitutional because it is hindering and silencing the American people. As a result, the society would no longer be a "free" society, but one held under duress.
The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s is a perfect …show more content…
Similar to the Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Suffrage Movement was a series of marches, peaceful protests on the street, and advocates voicing their beliefs that women should have the right to vote. Because of their protests and determination for this cause, the nineteenth amendment was eventually added to the Constitution, thereby giving women the right to vote. This contributed to gender equality in giving women the same rights that were extended to men. Equality leads to a free society because, through equality, more people are able to say what they want to say and allow their voices to be heard. This extends freedom to more people, thus creating a free society.
Although there are many other examples for why peaceful resistance positively impacts a free society in American history and current events alone, the Civil Rights and Women's Suffrage Movements particularly stand out. This is because even though they were "disobeying" the law, they led to the extended freedom to all American citizens, thus creating a free