Throughout history, a cataclysmic sets of events has left an indelible mark on the history of the United States. From the bloodbathed fields of Gettysburg, PA. in the Civil War to the nuclear bombs dropped over Japan in World War II, violence has persisted in the United States as a means to an end. Even today, as rogue terrorist groups claim to fight in the spirit of religion, violence is employed as a means of coercion. Consequently, violence has become a conditioned response in times of crisis in America. However, two men, Gandhi and King, juxtaposed against this position, laid the framework for effective nonviolent resistance years ago. For Gandhi and King, nonviolence wasn’t a passive form of resistance; rather, it was an active form of …show more content…
On Thursday April 30, 1970, President Nixon announced that United States ground troops would cross the border from Vietnam into neighboring Cambodia, which caused students on campus to lead demonstrations. Then, on Friday, the students continued to actively voice their opposition, leading to thousands of other students at campuses across the nation to join them in their cause. However, early in the morning that Saturday, things began to get out of hand with students returning to campus intoxicated. The students were throwing beer bottles, vandalizing property and incited a riot. Over the course of the next couple days, the organized demonstrations gave way to campus wide chaos. Until, Mayor Leroy Satrom made a request to Governor James Rhodes for National Guard troops to quell the protesters. Subsequently, the crowd remained determined and began to confront the guardsmen, leading the situation to spiral out of control. In response, the guardsmen began firing shots at the crowd, shortly after noon on Monday, May 4, killing four and wounding nine (Kent state …show more content…
Both King and Gandhi cautioned that violence breeds more violence, that nonviolent means must be enforced to successfully accomplish their goals. King illustrates this best when he said: “Never could I advocate nonviolence in this country and not advocate nonviolence for the whole world. That’s my philosophy, I don’t believe in the death and killing on either side, no matter who’s heading it up. Nonviolence is my stand and I’ll die for that stand.” (Nojeim 207). Still, Kent State students were successful in regards to being able to draw national media attention to their cause through their demonstrations. In fact, the aftermath of what became known as the “Kent State Massacre,” led to an even bigger demonstration held in Washington. Though the students failed to a great degree by employing violent means to redress change, the event had an everlasting effect on future student protests according to sociologist Jerry Lembcke: “The very effectiveness of the student movement’s mobilizations against the war in Vietnam wrought other changes that mitigate a repeat of that era’s radicalism. Disasters like Kent State taught administrators to never say never to student demands.” (Lembcke). Even though nonviolent means turned to violent means, the Kent State protest illustrate the ugliness of violent means and the need for effective
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Show MoreWhen the world is engulfed in injustice, it calls for brave men and women to fight back, but the question is how should one fight? Most would resort to violence to kill off injustice, but this leads to even more violence and chaos in most cases than intended. If someone is going to be shot the first reaction is to fight off the killer. However, Cesar Chavez implies in his powerful essay the weakness of violence in a unjust situation and instead the power of nonviolence.
This paper will be discussing how the Vietnam war and Kent state shooting tie together and how it affected lives afterwards. The Kent State Shooting on May 4, 1970 was a culmination of the anti war movement because Four Kent state students were killed protesting the invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam war. The Vietnam war was fought between North and South Vietnam. The United States, along with other countries such as the Philippines were on the side of South Vietnam.
1) A spate of anti-war activism occurred across the Le Moyne campus during the years of the Vietnam War from the late 1960s into the early 1970s. Such activism included protests against the Kent State shooting and against President Nixon and anti-draft demonstrations. Still, the Le Moyne community wasn’t entire unified behind the anti-war movement. There is a tendency to caricature college campuses during the Vietnam War as having a unified, passionate anti-war movement across the entire campus. In reality, however, not everybody in the Le Moyne community supported the anti-war activism; some viewed the protests as un-patriotic and unnecessarily subversive.
Even today, it is still possible to learn from King’s teachings. Non-violence is the number one thing he stood for, and that is exactly what could be used in today’s country. "Nonviolence does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent but to win friendship and understanding," King teaches. "The nonviolent resister must often express his protest through noncooperation or boycotts, but
If one uses this method because he is afraid or merely because he lacks the instruments of violence, he is not truly nonviolent. This is why Gandhi often said that if cowardice is the only alternative to violence, it is better to fight. "He also states “any law that degrades human personality is unjustifiable” By using these examples, King shows that nonviolent resistance is a legitimate and effective means of achieving change.
Campaigns such as the failure of peaceful protest in Albany, a heavily segregated city in the South, taught leaders of the movement such as Martin Luther King how to tackle future campaigns and what ideas should be implemented at Birmingham. Protests in Albany began in the early 1960s, when black students began voting registration drives, petitions and polls trying to bring about change regarding segregation. They called in Martin Luther King, who was regarded highly as a hero and a leader for the civil rights movement, to assist in encouraging and persuading people to become involved in the protesting. He led a march of 287 African-Americans through the town in an example of his famous peaceful protesting, and they were all arrested ‘peacefully’ too. Laurie Pritchett, the local head of law enforcement, treated the black prisoners from the protests in a kind and dignified way, and had the media report on how polite and peacefully he was treating the prisoners.
During the late 1950s and 1960s the southern states in America were segregated. Black and white people were separated from bathrooms to schools and therefore, blacks had to use their installments or they would be punished by whites. While this was happening, two African American men, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, wanted segregation to come to an end. So they proclaimed their ideas and started to form groups to protest against segregation in America. Consequently, Martin Luther King Jr’s civil rights philosophy made the most sense during the 1960s because integrated schools was the goal, nonviolence could have a huge impact on the enemy and nonviolence was the only practical strategy.
Gandhi once said, “An eye-for-an-eye makes the whole world blind.” What he meant is that fighting violence with violence helped no one. During his lifetime, Gandhi fought against oppressive British rule in India, and his journey was known throughout the world. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela both shared Gandhi’s thirst for freedom, basing their respective movements for peace on Gandhi’s. All three men fought peacefully for equality, whether it was for India’s freedom from the British empire, emancipation from apartheid laws that prohibited black Africans from being truly free, or liberation from Jim Crow laws to keep black Americans inferior to whites.
These innocent, peacefully protesting people were injured and one was shot and killed. Jimmy Lee Jackson was a 20 year old who was protecting his grandma and mom. He was struck by a club, then shot with a gun. Over 50 people were injured and hospitalized. A couple people died months later because of their injuries.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an African-American Civil Rights Movement known for advancing civil rights by using nonviolent protest movements. Cesar Chavez, a labor union organizer and civil rights leader, publishes an article arguing about the importance of nonviolence in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Three most prominent rhetorical devices Chavez uses in the article include the use of moral reasoning, juxtaposition, and appeal to history. Chavez uses these rhetorical devices brilliantly to build his argument on nonviolent resistance in honor of the late Dr. King.
Cesar Chavez Rhetorical Analysis Throughout the existence of mankind, many cultures and civilizations have encountered a form of injustice treatment that has resulted in political movements. Some were supported by violence, such as the Revolutionary War, which was an ultimate result of Great Britain’s lack of freedom of religion, while others, such as the women’s suffrage movement, were based solely on nonviolence. In one of his magazine articles, Cesar Chavez explores Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s idea that nonviolent resistance is the most powerful when fighting injustice as well as why and how this is possible.
The plea for nonviolence echoed from various civil rights leaders during the 1960’s. The most memorable however was Dr.Martin Luther King, he inspired generations to follow the path of not expressing your aggression. Although when he was assassinated, many followers desired revenge against the massacre. Cesar Chavez disagreed with the violent outcries and argued that his fellow oppressed members of society should follow MLK’s belief by remaining nonviolent. Chavez begins by introducing MLK’s principle of nonviolence and then he brings up the other decision of violence.
The way of nonviolence.” (Lewis and Aydin 73 book 1). Lewis took his spiritual values and helped his community by preaching the way King did and standing up for equal rights. This was the moment he would learn about nonviolent
In the speeches, “Facing the Challenge of a New Age,” “The Most Durable Power,” “The Power of Nonviolence,” and “A Look to the Future,” Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the issues of nonviolence and faith. The first two were given in Montgomery in 1956. The latter two, were both given in 1957, however “The Power of Nonviolence” was given at UC Berkeley, while the latter was given to the Highlander Folk School, a Tennessee institution for training social activist leaders. Through these speeches, King used faith, both political and religious, to persuade his audiences towards the use nonviolence in the Civil Rights Movement.
Peaceful Resistance no matter what way you look at it, it 's still going against someone whether it involves words or actions, resistance still causes more conflict. The last 5 years we have had people say they want change through these “peaceful protest” but these peaceful protests have done nothing but turn to violent riots were theirs damage to vehicles, business families rely on destroyed, bystanders hurt, officers killed and our country torn apart. Back when Martian Luther King Jr was around and he had his Peaceful Resistance or rallies for equality, they were peaceful and brought our country together with something that needed to be changed, but the protest we’ve had the last 5 years… he would be ashamed of. Peaceful Resistance to laws does negatively impact our free society in America. First going along with what I said about there being “peaceful rallies” even though some people may be at these rallies to make a difference to support their opinion, not everyone can respect that.