Civil Disobedience

Social and political evolution has played a key role in shaping society today. Civil disobedience is a key component of evolution. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, civil disobedience is defined as “refusal to obey laws as a way of forcing the government to do or change something” (“Civil Disobedience”). This is a fundamental means of defiance as it results in public recognition and is more often than not covered and expanded by the media. Many examples of civil disobedience have resulted in law changes, social reforms, and influenced change such as the independence of a nation. Civil disobedience is a catalyst of evolution, demonstrated with the Salt March by Mahondas (Mahatma) Ghandi, the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Dr. Martin Luther

Ghandi then “[called] upon the Indian population to refuse to pay taxes, particularly the tax on salt. The campaign included a march to the sea, in which thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from Ahmadabad to the Arabian Sea, where they made their own salt by evaporating sea water” (Funk and Wagnall’s New World Encyclopedia). Ghandi was arrested along with 60,000 people, and among his release the Ghandi-Irwin pact was declared between India and Britain. This effectively released all those arrested and allowed Indians to produce and sell salt. Ghandi’s role in promoting and initiating the Salt March granted him a seat in the Round Table Conference, which eventually evolved India as a whole. The Round Table Conference is “a series of meetings in three sessions called by the British government to consider the future constitution of India” (Encyclopaedia Britannica). This resulted in India having a constitution until it achieved its independence, proving the civil disobedience of Ghandi and co. truly did evolve India. The resulting constitution gave the Indian civilians more freedom and a larger role in their government, all in which led to India’s independence in 1947. This series of events sprouted from the Salt March, which illustrates that civil disobedience is evolution. Ghandi’s initiative to conduct a civil disobedience order among the Indian people evidently played a key role in the evolution of India, its

Martin Luther King is further demonstration that civil disobedience is a valuable mechanism to evolution. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks, who was detained for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white woman. The boycott was a 13 month mass protest orchestrated by Dr. King and MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association) in Montgomery, Alabama. For months, African-Americans were urged to refrain from riding on the bus until it was declared that segregation on the bus was unconstitutional. Dr. King and MIA created a list of demands which included; “courteous treatment by bus operators; first-come, first-served seating for all, with blacks seating from the rear and whites from the front; and black bus operators on predominately black routes” (King Encyclopedia of Stanford). These demands were refuted and resulted in increased protestors and increased frustration from the Montgomery municipal government. Ultimately, Dr. Martin Luther King was arrested along with over 80 fellow boycott leaders. Evidently, it is Dr. King’s effective boycott and the upcoming evolution that led to his apprehension. The case garnered attention globally, which collectively brought supporters of the organized civil disobedience. King was eventually freed and the group’s demands were met. America’s stand on segregation started to slowly evolve because of this, as the Supreme Court of America ruled bus segregation as