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Essay On Civil Disobedience

537 Words3 Pages

From the moment a baby girl is born, she is told to follow the rules and listen to the people in charge. If the girl broke the rules, she would be given a punishment. This is fine when the girl is little and she is learning manners, but in the long run, following the rules at all times does not lead to change. If it were not for many brave women who broke the rules, ignored the people in charge, and risked punishment, women would still be seen as far inferior to men. Civil disobedience has a positive impact on a free society because it sparks change and progression in that society. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton risked her freedom to fight for the freedom to vote for women all around the country. Anthony and Stanton partners in the fight to gain women's suffrage. They organized groups and pushed for equality, but they put all they had on the line when they went into a polling place to illegally …show more content…

She organized a parade to distract from the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson along with many other protests putting her life outside of a jail cell at risk. Although she was just exercising her first amendment right to the freedom to protest, Alice Paul and her supporters were arrested for her “unpatriotic” actions. Prison did not stop the suffragists form further their platform. They conducted a hunger strike to show the persistence of the movement and of their beliefs. The hunger strike led the suffragists to be held in solitary confinement and to be force-fed. Once news broke of the cruel treatment of the suffragists they were released. After the strong battle fought by Alice Paul and many other women, Woodrow Wilson announced his support for the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote. Alice Paul’s act of civil disobedience paved the way for many Americans because of the positive impact her civil disobedience has on

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In 1873, Susan B Anthony an abolitionist, and feminist advocated for women to receive the right to vote. Around this time period African Americans had recently received the right to vote, and women across the United States felt they should be allowed voting rights too. Women such as, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, wrote about the injustice and spoke out across the nation. Susan B. Anthony believed that women are citizens of the United States, she decided to exercise her right to vote. As a result of protesting,she was arrested and fined one hundred dollar fine, after an unjust trial in court.

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Throughout history, civil disobedience has helped societies grow and accept social reforms. The case of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, is an important formal written statement for the need of social change. Civil disobedience has been a useful leveraging tactic in ways to draw attention to the perceived injustice. It has had huge impacts on societies in ways to create tension that

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Alice Paul, the extremely dedicated and vital woman, once said “I think that American women are further along than any other women in the world” (“I Was Arrested, Of Course”… 1). She believed this because many women from the United States were stronger and educated through hardship. This hardship was learned when their husbands went off to war and the women had to learn what the men had to do to provide for their family. Miss Paul was a single-minded devoted woman who believed women should have the right to vote just as men do. She went to college in England, where she was seen as equal to men rather than under them in the U.S.

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What Form of Civil Disobedience Is the Most Effective to Create Social Change? Do we require social alter? Do we require gracious insubordination? History has appeared us by certain individuals that we do.

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INTRODUCTION Civil disobedience is the active, refusal to obey some laws, demands, or commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience, not always, but can be termed as Nonviolent Resistance in nature. The word civil has many definitions: “relating to citizens and their interrelations with one another or with the state”and it literally means “disobedience towards state”. Mahatma Gandhi used civil disobedience to derive the relation between Thoreau’s civil disobedience and his own Satyagraha.

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An example of disobedience is the Boston Tea Party, in which a few American colonists snuck onto a British ship and threw millions of dollars worth of tea overboard. This event was a stepping stone into the American Revolution, where the pilgrims successfully defeated Great Britain with help from the French Army. In summary, this justifies that disobedience can be key to social change as America fought for what it believed in and gained its ability to govern itself, free of any rule. Another example of disobedience changing the course of human history is the Civil Rights Movement. During the 1950s racism was at its peak in the U.S. With this many activists came out to shine light on this situation.

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Civil disobedience has always been a positive impact on a free society. It is a necessary freedom. We have seen in the past that it has made nothing but great changes. It has given me, and millions of other people countless opportunities. All of the people who have practiced civil disobedience have made revolutionary changes to our government.

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Coined by abolitionist Mr. Henry David Thoreau when he wrote about refusing to pay his poll tax, it is interesting to see how civil disobedience has come a long way since. The benefits of this phenomena can first be seen when analyzing the classic example of Mrs. Rosa Parks. While most people know her story in the context of the Civil Rights Movement, historians consider this example as one of the first turning points within this era due to her conscious violation of preexisting statutes. The same can be said when analyzing how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did the same thing by getting arrested nearly 30 times throughout the entirety of the Civil Rights Movement for similar actions. In hindsight, all these actions of peaceful resistance had the single most positive effect in American history by ushering in an age of true equality.

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Civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. Civil disobedience can have a huge impact on others. It is a way to pave the way for any type of change that may be needed. In Malala Yousafzai’s speech and in Martin Luther King Jr.’s A Letter from Birmingham City Jail, they explain why civil disobedience is sometimes necessary inorder to spread news about an issue people do not care about and to convince people that are against an issue.

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The government and the majority get a better perspective of the minority. Furthermore, it allows people in the government to get a better perspective from the public. Civil disobedience positively impacts free society because these acts spread awareness of unjust laws, and cause the governments to double check laws and question if they are really necessary (“Civil Disobedience Impact on Society”).

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A society where dissent is met with violence, and those in power are not held accountable for their actions. This was the reality during the Civil Rights Movement, where individuals were hit with brutal force for standing up against oppressive laws. However, by using peaceful resistance and civil disobedience, change was made. Through its ability to challenge and promote change, foster personal beliefs, and hold those in power accountable, civil disobedience is a vital tool for the preservation of a just society.

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Personally, I believe that civil disobedience is a lot more than what is included in its definition. My definition of civil disobedience does not only include the peaceful resistance of public laws, but also the disagreement with laws that do not directly affect American life. Civil disobedience should not only be defined as peaceful protest, but as other actions where Americans can stand up for what they believe in, even if there are no consequences. Writing letters, emailing, or even posting on social media should also be considered as forms of disobedience. All citizens should stand up for what they believe in, even when it’s against government views, to protect their own freedom.

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As a peaceful form of protest, civil disobedience has been practiced for centuries in pursuance of social and lawful change. Topics such as lower taxes and improved labor laws have been fought for the betterment of the people. To be practiced, I believe the cause must be well thought-out, the participants prepared and informed, and the change should be beneficial to society. Though there are many skeptics who claim to practice civil disobedience is a waste of time and (or) resources, I believe this method is not only the most advantageous to the protestors but is best for the public eye to see. Throughout centuries, we have seen civil disobedience being practiced, and many times it is a fruitless pursuit because there is a lack of sophistication

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Oscar Wilde’s contention that disobedience inherently yields deleterious consequences possesses a modicum of merit, he is right, and disobedience catalyzes liberation from tyranny and freedom in the American social system. Oppressive laws and policies that deny fundamental rights and dignity must be challenged and disobeyed to highlight American moral injustice. Peaceful protest and civil disobedience bring attention to the harm of unjust laws in a way that cannot be ignored. Disobedience puts moral pressure on those in power to do the right thing and change the laws. The Civil Rights Movement, the fight for LGBTQ rights, and the American Revolution all involved disobedience of unjust laws and policies to protest discrimination, demand equal

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First, not many people know what civil-disobedience is; so, may I ask the question? What is civil-disobedience? Civil-disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of influencing legislation or government policy, which is characterized by the usage of nonviolent techniques; some examples would be boycotting, picketing, tree siting and nonpayment of taxes. These acts of civil-disobedience have been use throughout history by Civil Rights Groups. Also, these are some of the ways that civil-disobedience has positively impacted our free society by giving citizens of America the right to have a voice in their government.

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