Examples Of Civil Disobedience In American History

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The American Revolution introduced into the face of this Earth an idea of a democracy, and it was this idea of listening to the voice of the common folk that has made America into the country that it is today. Throughout America’s tumultuous history, the idea of a democracy has taken several different forms. Whose voice mattered the most? Does race make a difference? What is the point when a protest turns into a riot? These questions have been asked time and again in the last two hundred years, and the quest to answering these questions has made America into the country that it is today. This journey has never been easy and has often involved bloodshed. Indeed, in order to protect their idea of democracy and to bring about change, the citizens of this nation have peacefully broken the law, an idea known as civil disobedience. In fact, without civil disobedience - or some type of protest - there can never be an effective change. The first examples of civil disobedience can be seen during the American Revolution. The founding fathers of this country went against the English crown because they considered the …show more content…

During the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, became the largest example of peaceful protest and civil disobedience in American History. During the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans participated in sit-ins and peace marches in order to attain equal rights. Rosa Parks found a way to peacefully protest bus laws in Montgomery, Alabama, by breaking them, and countless other also found a way to peacefully protest by doing things like peaceful marches and sit-ins, which at the time were illegal acts. Therefore, though African Americans were harshly punished during this time, the Civil Rights Movement, an era that brought about significant changes in the American society, was an era of civil