Why Is Civil Disobedience Important To The Civil Rights Movement?
Peaceful resistance is necessary for social change. The founders of the United States believed in this idea when writing the Declaration of Independence. John Locke, an enlightenment thinker who our founding fathers took ideas from, came up with the idea of the social contract. This is the agreement that a government and its people have and when citizens feel their government is wronging them then they have the right to revolt. Civil disobedience is a form of expressing the social contract and the consent of the governed. Why is it wrong to peacefully show the government why "we the people" are upset with it? The most powerful example I can think of is the sit ins during the civil rights era. The civil rights movement had strong leaders, many of which believed in non violent measures to achieve their goals. When four young men sat at a Woolworth's counter and were refused service they continued to sit there through threats, and it changed the country. People partaking in sit ins were told to take abuse, and were arrested. This movement was used to show that violence was coming from the white community and helped achieve the goals of the civil rights movement towards racial equality. A more recent example of civil disobedience is the woman's march occurring January 21st 2017. …show more content…
The American people have the right to assemble, and the freedom of speech, thanks to the first amendment. Civil disobedience goes along with this. When there is injustice in our society then we have the right to speak out about it. Our nation was founded on a group of people upset at how they were treated. Throwing tea into a harbor sure was not legal. When change is necessary then one needs to fight for it. Willingly breaking a law may seem absurd but when you are fighting for something you believe in then the reward of justice should outweigh the risk of
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