Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr.s...

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the definition of civil disobedience is the â€Å"refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government.† Men such as Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. have all used forms of civil disobedience and nonviolent protest to make changes in the world. These changes have made huge impacts on our societies and how we are able to live our everyday lives. Without these three men and their practice of civil disobedience, the world would be a very different place. Thoreau views civil disobedience as a necessity when the law causes someone to be unjust to another person. He claimed that it is a person’s right to stand up to the Government when he or she feels like their rights is being infringed upon. Most of these protests are nonviolent, but in the case of slavery he took a more active approach. He couldn’t believe that the Government that he was living under could also be a Government that slaves were living under as well. Thoreau believed that the Government was completely unjust and that people who are paying taxes but saying that they don’t believe in slavery are participating in the injustice of the slaves. He believed that people needed to take action now, and that waiting to vote to change things would not help at all. People needed to live their lives every day by being just and doing the right thing. He alsoShow MoreRelatedViolent Protest In 1848 : Civil Disobedience896 Words   |  4 PagesBartolomà © Soto Non-violent civil protest is what its known as a direct action from society and it is part of what Henry Thoreau called in his essay on 1848: Civil disobedience†. Civil disobedience, according to Rawls, is a public act of law breach that looks for create awareness among the population about the need to change certain public policies or certain laws that are considered to be unfair. Nowadays, we can see vivid examples of civil disobedience, being the most famous the case of VenezuelaRead MoreCivil Disobedience: Cost of Change1469 Words   |  6 Pages2013 Civil Disobedience: The cost of change More than 40,000 strong activists from the Sierra Club protested at the White House to reject the Keystone XL Pipeline proposal. They protested because they the extraction of tar sand oil and moving it from Canada to Texas will pollute the groundwater in the surface (Hammel). Civil disobedience is â€Å"the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power† (Civil Disobedience). ThroughoutRead MoreComparison of Civil Disobedience Essay3692 Words   |  15 Pagesthe Civil Disobedience of Martin Luther King Jr., Henry David Thoreau, and Mohandas Gandhi   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the onset of man fighting for freedom or his beliefs, the question has always been whether one person can make a difference using words rather than wars. Philosophically, the concept of civil disobedience would appear to be an ineffective weapon against political injustice; history however has proven it to repeatedly be one of the most powerful weapons of the common man. Martin Luther King Jr.Read MoreHenry David Thoreau: Great Influence to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.629 Words   |  3 PagesI strongly believe that just as Henry David Thoreau was greatly influenced by the writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, (who introduced Thoreau to the ideas of transcendentalism) Martin Luther King, Jr.s thinking was greatly influenced by that of Thoreaus. He was most probably influenced more by Indias Mahatma Gandhi; however, Gandhis principles were mainly based on those of Thoreau. Though Thoreau lived more than 100 years before the time of King, his thinking remained an infl uential legacy. They eachRead MoreBreaking the Law or Civil Desobedience Essay example1642 Words   |  7 Pagescreate a just, moral change. Whenever a law is deemed unjust, there is good reason for breaking it to achieve justice. Civil Disobedience will never be legal and those who employ it should be willing to accept the penalty that comes with breaking a law. It has been shown through historic cases, modern examples, and the core values of a democratic society that show Civil Disobedience not only works, but should be used as a tool to demonstrate the moral objectives that are being sought. Considering someRead MoreCivil Disobedience, By Henry David Thoreau1650 Words   |  7 Pagesweakness? In his 1849 essay â€Å"Civil Disobedience,† American writer Henry David Thoreau explained he had refused to pay his poll tax to the U.S. government for six years because he opposed the U.S. engaged in war with Mexico. This kind of â€Å"civil disobedience,† Thoreau (1849) said, is crucial because â€Å"a minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then†. In fact, he said, â€Å"It costs me less in every sense to incur the penalty of disobedience to the State than it wouldRead MoreResistance To Civil Government : Civil Disobedience1806 Words   |  8 PagesCivil Disobedience is classified as the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. This idea was brought into focus in the essay â€Å"Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience)† by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau’s opinion on the subject was that the government was involved in everyone’s business, trying to make the country better yet they had the opposite effect. His opinion was that there is a need to prioritizeRead MoreThe Montgomery Bus Boycott Part 11033 Words   |  5 Pagesman from India deeply influenced a black man in America who persuaded black Americans to peacefully seek civil rights. Blacks in America were once slaves. They had neither freedom nor rights. Now, in the 20th century, segregation has been abolished and discrimination has largely been reduced and blacks are more able to live freely as American citizens. In Early 1950’s, blacks did not have civil rights, so they had to fight for their freedom. In 1955, blacks decided to rally together for social justiceRead MoreEssay The Incredible Henry David Thoreau1081 Words   |  5 Pagesthe integrity of their government. Henry David Thoreau was one such man. Henry Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts to a successful pencil manufacturer John Thoreau and a strong-willed, quick-witted mother, Cynthia. Early on Henry enjoyed reading books and observing nature in solitude. He inherited the gift of gab and intellectual inquiry from his mother as well as both Puritan and abolitionist ideals. In 1837 he graduated from Harvard. In 1841 Henry moved into Ralph Waldo Emersons homeRead MoreGandhi`s Achivements and Failures Essay961 Words   |  4 Pages amp;#65279; Gandhi was an influential figure in our society. He taught many people about equal rights, honouring thy neighbour, and peace and tranquillity. Although at times his actions were deemed improbable and insane nevertheless, they were effective. Life of Mohatama Gandhi; his goals he accomplish for freedom for South Africa; and how Mohatama finally obtained freedom for India. Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi, was born in the present state of Gujarat on October 2, 1869. He was