The Constitution directly provides for peaceful resistance to laws in its very first amendment: “Congress shall make no law...prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging...the right of the people peaceably to assemble,” and this tenet has become one of the fundamental liberties that has allowed our society to progress beyond several major incursions of civil rights. It is without question that peaceful resistance to that which is not right has benefitted free society greatly, and has been the subject of direct discussion throughout history and today, with examples occurring frequently enough throughout the history of free nations to have become a major part of the way change comes about in such countries. As the most prominent free nation in the world, the United States of …show more content…
Carefully discussed in “The Case Against Civil Disobedience,” nonviolent resistance may take forms that are not technically breaking the law, and as such, some events that are commonly touted as being examples of civil disobedience are actually not. However, this does not erase the fact that the civil disobedience that has become a central part of America’s history has been effective, and is part of our nation’s tradition and commitment to peaceful exchange of power, a precedent begun by George Washington most notably with his relinquishment of the presidency after two terms. The very nature of America’s presidential system is built upon the trust that no one president will love power enough to fight to keep it, and this security of nonviolence is indicative of the nation’s core values. Although America has several glaring examples