Civil Disobedience During the 1950s and before, it was a crime to be different in the United States; one was hated for being so. Simply sitting at a lunch counter or on a bus could result in a person’s arrest. Throughout history and continuing to this day, peaceful protest has effectively resulted in positive change in society. Injustice has best been remedied through nonviolent tactics than through violent ones, as violence almost always leads to just more violence. Social activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi have led groups of oppressed peoples to liberation through demonstrations of civil disobedience. Peaceful resistance to laws has positively impacted free societies for generations as corruptions are highlighted …show more content…
When Gandhi was arrested for protesting racial discrimination against Indians in South Africa, he had read Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” which influenced his methods of nonviolent resistance to laws (Gandhi and Civil Disobedience). His civil disobedience against the unjust British government in India inspired others both locally and around the world to lead protests in peaceful ways instead of the traditional violent resistance, which would rarely ever achieve the desired results. Gandhi’s demonstrations of peaceful resistance to the British tyranny in India, such as non-cooperation and fasting, eventually led to the destruction of the Indian caste system and independence from England for the Indian people. In the evolution of civil disobedience of law, Gandhi was pivotal in inspiring new generations of activists around the globe that would later permanently change the world in which we live. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was influenced by Gandhi, he wrote that he was, “operating through the Gandhian method of nonviolence” and described the method as “one of the most potent weapons available to an oppressed people” this statement proves that Gandhi had an influence on future social activists like Dr. King (King, Stride 79; Papers 5:422). Through the actions of Gandhi, India became free from the oppressive British government, and he gained the status of …show more content…
is the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King revealed that his reading of Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” was his “First intellectual contact with the theory of nonviolence and resistance” which influenced his adoption of nonviolent tactics in an attempt to gain racial equality in the U.S (Gregg Blakely). Gandhi’s tactics then influenced him when he visited India in 1959 and he examined the true nature of nonviolent resistance. Although he never met Gandhi personally, he spoke with Indian officials, which deepened his understanding of nonviolent resistance. In addition to visiting India, King also read many of Gandhi’s books. Through King’s leadership, many African Americans participated in sit-ins, boycotts, bus rides, and marches. All of these forms of protest were intended to be peaceful and mostly were until the people being protested against created violence. When a group of Freedom Riders arrived in Anniston Alabama on May 14, 1961, a group of White protesters set fire to the bus and beat the Blacks that were trying to escape. While the actions of King and his supporters indirectly created violence and chaos, they were never intended to cause harm. The violence that was created was only temporary, and the benefits outweigh the detriments. Through the bus boycotts, to the Freedom Rides, to the march on Selma, which were all reported on television,
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.
It is out of the selfless act of heroes and heroines of civil disobedience such as Mahatma Gandhi that the society is enjoying the fruits today. This speech is going to demonstrate how civil disobedience has played roles in social reforms, containing unjust rulings
As Oscar Wilde said, “ It is through disobedience that progress has been made-- disobedience and rebellion.” Disobedience during the American Revolution was originally peaceful, but as grievances grew and British rule became harsher, Americans could no longer sit idly by. Radical disobedience to the law was necessary in order to promote change for American society. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, a drastic nonviolent movement was necessary to counteract the expectation of violence, reiterating to Americans that peaceful resistance to laws can positively affect a free society. The Civil Rights movement was split by two factions: one was a violent resistance named The Black Panthers and the other was a nonviolent protest led by Martin Luther King Jr.
Protestors were beat, jailed, and tormented for standing up for their beliefs. As Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in Letter from a Birmingham Jail, “I am in a Birmingham jail because injustice is in here.” The law enforcers were disobeying the laws and they were not peaceful. They stripped the protestors right to freedom of speech while terrorizing the marches and their participants. This was not the American way.
Bus drivers got to choose who stood and who had the right to sit down when the bus was full. Parks thought this was unjust. African Americans all around town refused to get on the buses. King ended up being a part of this boycott.
Although, violently fighting the British may have eventually won India its independence, Gandhi choosing to be nonviolent caused India to learn how to do things on its own while still reaching its goal of actually being independent from the British significantly faster. Gandhi’s use of nonviolence was because he didn't want to hurt anyone, he just wanted India to be independent. Going to jail gained Gandhi attention, followers and respect, and lastly, Gandhi not seeing the British as his enemy contributed to a more peaceful way on how to gain India’s freedom. Gandhi doing this caused India to eventually gain it’s independence in
Both Civil Disobedience and the Gandhi article are alike based on the fact they both discuss civil disobedience, attending prison, and standing for one’s beliefs. Civil disobedience can be seen as a good thing and a bad thing depending on to what extent one is breaking the laws. Some people may break the law because they feel that it is unfair to them but others break the for the simple fact of doing what they want in order for it to benefit themselves. Laws are meant for the majority which means even if they are not pertaining to certain citizens. Thoreau targeted laws that pertained to him, Gandhi went on strike for the better of his country and people.
In 1930, Mohandas Gandhi led a peaceful protest caused by the rule of the British over India. Eventually, due to his peaceful protests, India was no longer ruled by the British. Social Injustice occurred in the past and will continue to occur until we all decide to stand up for what we believe is right. There are several social injustice events from the past that were ended due to those who took a stand for what is right. In order to make our world better, we need to all be treated equally, and have our own voice to stand ups or what we believe is
Ghandi used many methods to achieve this, including leading nonviolent protests, civil disobedience and negotiation with British authorities. This article provides evidence of the strong relationship between Randolph’s quote and Gandhi's actions Body Gandhi believed that he would not be granted freedom by the British authorities, instead, freedom would have to be won through collective efforts of the
Rather, he had a huge community of African-Americans on his side taking part in non-violent protests. Although not an ally, Gandhi was a major mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi was very inspirational to King because of his non-violent protest and it was what influenced King to go visit India. King stated, “There is another way... as modern as Gandhi saying through Thoreau, that 'non‑cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good” (Raab).
For example, King’s first opportunity to display Civil Disobedience in his society was in becoming a leader of The Montgomery Bus Boycott. King did wanted to fight towards injustice but he was influenced by the Bible and from his understanding of the teachings of Jesus which showed him that the way to fight injustice was not harming other. As a matter of fact, King and Gandhi had the same view about civil disobedience, but they used civil disobedience in different injustice act. Gandhi was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India.
India’s leader Mohandas Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) was influenced by David Thoreau 's Civil Disobedience arguments while sitting in jail. Gandhi loosely adopted the term “civil disobedience” for non-violent protests and refused to cooperate with injustice. Following his release, he protested the registration law by joining labor strikes and organizing a large non-violent march. After the marches, the Boer government finally agreed to end the most divisive sections of the law. In 1907, he campaigned in South Africa and wrote a translated synopsis of Thoreau 's argument for the Indian Opinion.
Due to the race inequality along with the economic regulations among the Indian people, Gandhi’s ambition from the beginning of simply just wanting equality between the Indian and British transition to wanting India to become Independence. He wanted to give the Indian citizen a voice in the government and a chance to define their own nation. The Indian people lose their political power in terms of how the British authorities were exercising their power over them, implementing policies according to their own rules and administrating over the Indian’s resources. Gandhi throughout the film had the desire to help gain back India’s political power and it revolves around his method of passive resistance and self-sacrifice. He belief in “an eye for an eye only makes people blind” is what helped him achieve freedom for India without any violence involve.
For example, Martin Luther King, Jr. and his use of civil disobedience is extremely honorable and still memorable today. He used the power of speech and marches to fight for African American rights. Also, Mahatma Gandhi is another influential leader that practiced civil disobedience while leading India to independence. Similarly, both heroes were harmonious in the way they stood up for their beliefs. They used nonviolent resistance to spark waves of revolution throughout the world.
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.