Preview

How Did Peaceful Resistance To Laws Affect Society

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
524 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Did Peaceful Resistance To Laws Affect Society
Peaceful resistance to laws positively affects a free society. Since we're Americans we've been learning about American History since we started school. Breaking the law is not always a bad thing. IF the law goes against something you believe in , and you know it's not right break the law. Yes, if you're caught you'll be jailed but it's worth it to stick up for something that you believe in. Take for instance in the Civil Right's Days when Rosa Parks was fed up with the unequal treatment blacks received opposed to the whites. If Rosa had abided by the law who knows where we would be. She was tired of the unequal treatment, if she was on the bus first why should she give up her seat to a man who just got on the bus. Rosa was jailed , but her …show more content…
If you're going against a government implemented law you have to come the correct way. Or take for instance Martin Luther King , a black reverend who came up during the Civil Rights Movement. He used civil disobedience that he learned from Gandhi, Henry David Thoreau. King was jailed because of his peaceful actions. King was even killed because of his peaceful resistance to the government laws. Since the constitution gives Americans the right to assembly , protesting can be a way over peaceful resistance. Sometimes things get out of hand and they do turn violent, but those were not the intentions. Peaceful resistance allows us as the citizens to have a voice on the things that we are not too fond on. It all goes back to your morals and say for instance peer pressure. Most peoples parents taught them to stay true to themselves and to not do things that they are not comfortable doing. This also applies to the government LAW or not law. When hate is driven to create a law love is what must drove it out, you can not fight fire with fire. It makes you look ignorant. Not obeying the law can be a good thing actually, it just depends on the law. So for instance when slavery was

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Peaceful resistance to laws does positively impact a free society. The Boston Tea Party of 1773 and the arrest of Rosa Parks on December 1st, 1955 are both great examples of that. The british continuation of placing taxes on tea was the reason the Boston Tea Party first began. Angry colonists chose to dress themselves as Mohawk Indians (to not get recognized as they got on british tea ships) to dump thousands of pounds of tea down the Boston Harbor. Even though they were unfortunately punished after this by the british, it resulted in being one of the main reasons why America wanted independence from Britain and in the end were gladly able to achieve that! This brings me to the next point, Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks was arrested for not approving…

    • 233 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It depends on certain situations whether peaceful resistance to laws can have a positive impact or have a negative impact on a free society. Majority of peaceful assemblies can give the group of activist their freedom of speech and views towards something they believe in. Famous public figures like Claudette Colvin and Rosa Park's civil disobedience had a powerful effect on the world. Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move her seat for a white men while sitting on a segregated white bus in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1st, 1955. Similarly, Claudette Colvin found herself in the same predicament and she was declared the first woman to have that sort of refusal or peaceful resistance towards bus regulations back then. Even though they both knew their views were going to get them into serious consequences with the Jim Crow Laws, they spoke their views and truths about the world during that time. In Rosa Park's situation, fortunately her civil disobedience was a "peaceful resistance towards the law." Nothing seriously got out of control, too violent, or too extreme and to foreshadow when it did; the people of the African American community just stood back up and refused to let the world shut…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When answering the question does peaceful resistance to laws positively of negatively impact a free society, one word takes precedence - peaceful. Too many times we overlook that word and the result is just resistance to laws. In recent days, something that was titled peaceful demonstration turned into violent protest. The violence is often the intention of the "resistance" groups from the onset. The latest example comes from those who protested the outcome of the presidential election of Donald Trump. Their intention was violence and destruction in the name of protest. Egged on by media corporations with political leanings, these enraged individuals are given a free pass. This gives actual civil disobedience no chance to create positive change. The majority of protestors have no idea what cause they are associated with, just looking for their shot to get on television. The next "protest" must outdo the last and so on and so on. It is now commonplace to destroy property, set fires and attack innocent bystanders to get your point across.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    With recent, record-breaking protests such as the ones on the weekend of January 20-22 (as well as pre-existing ones such as the North Dakota Access Pipeline protests), more and more people are participating in the phenomenon that is peaceful resistance and protest, and, as officials say about the Women’s March during the weekend (to connect with an example), “not a single arrest was made” (Seipel, “The Hill”). Again, there are direct results, as the NDAP protests caused alternate considerations by the Army regarding the pipeline (Brodwin, “Business Insider”). The United States was a country created on the basis of revolution; the Declaration of Independence is the archetype document of resistance; even the Resistance in Star Wars is viewed as good with their attempts at disobedience. Thomas Jefferson sought for the balance of the inherent right of revolution with the need to conform to the set laws that exist to protect the well-being of all; with civil disobedience, Jefferson’s ideals are ensured. No one is claiming to be above the law, nor are they attempting to usurp the standing government. The people only want the efficient, peaceful change and positive transition that can only come from the peaceful resistance to laws. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts society as it brings about the change without violence and needless bloodshed and fighting and challenges thinking from different viewpoints in a mental and emotional standpoint that…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To begin with, in order to achieve true freedom one must peacefully protest. In the passage “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. argues that it is acceptable to break a law if it an unjust law. According to the text “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in lines 242-246, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., says, “ I submit that any individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him it is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the…

    • 964 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society because it is exercising the rights of it’s citizens as well as proving that the government is not always correct, and the biggest changes normally come about from civil disobedience. Civil disobedience has been used to speak against the United States government when it showed that those in power wouldn’t change for the better. Civil disobedience was not well known for the abolition of slaves. David Thoreau called for it in “Civil Disobedience,” written in 1849, claiming that the government showed faulty in handling slavery. Thoreau claimed “the government itself… is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it,” (Thoreau par 1).…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Peaceful resistance to law positively impacts society. Humans have a lengthy, detailed history of not always being able to see what is right or moral in certain circumstances, and unfortunately, humans are who create laws. One infamous example of unjust laws would be the Jim Crow laws of the south. Today, it is clear as day that discrimination and racism is unconstitutional, but why was it so hard to see that during that time period.…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In my opinion, peaceful resistance to laws is a positive impact to society in some ways, while being negative in others. It is okay to use your freedom of speech to talk about issues important to you. For example racism and discrimination. For example, when America was still in its prime of being racist and discriminatory to people of color, Rosa Parks decided to peacefully resist standing up so a white person could take her seat. She knew her action would most likely result in being arrested, but she continued to do it anyway.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Peaceful defiance of laws effectiveness is all in the eye of the beholder. If done correctly it can bring attention to the movement in a positive light. However if it causes to much of a nuisance to people that do not support the cause it will receive much opposition. The most effective peaceful defiance of laws in my opinion would be the Civil Rights movements of the 50s and 60s. With their leaders they perfectly blended the ability to get their word out with complying with others to achieve what they wanted. Now at the time their tactics must have been a nuisance, but that is why it worked so well. They implicated many plans that involved people of all age and even all race to make people see how badly they were beimg treated.That is unlike…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Peaceful resistance is impossible, especially in this modern society. Peaceful organization turns to riot even when good intentions are present. Inaction and guiltmongering do nothing to help society. It is sad to see people who believe they are doing all the good in the world turn to these methods and use violence though convinced it is really peaceful. "Peaceful" protest accomplishes nothing. American government is predicated on this. The only things that change are violence and political action. Asking nicely saved nobody, and the American Revolution is proof of this. The colonists asked for a long time for fair representation in Parliament but no change came and, in fact, increases in taxes and injustices happened. It was not until the injustices came to a head in gunfire that there was a change, which was an overthrow of the British Empire and the Americans took control of their own lives and governed themselves. Peaceful resistance did nothing.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It becomes a kind of despotism where we seek to silence rather than engage.” Civil disobedience is a necessary part of free society, as it provides an avenue from which all people can make themselves heard, regardless of political power or economic status. Furthermore, it is necessary to keep the spirit of the first amendment alive, as peaceful protest is a way in which people exercise their right to free speech; without peaceful resistance to laws, little progress would be made in a free society, and the views of the majority would be imposed on the rest of the population. Acting as a catalyst for change, peaceful resistance one ingredient of the recipe that drives a free nation towards growth and…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some of these protesters went too far and harmed rather than protesting peacefully. Does peaceful resistance to laws positively or negatively impact a free society? The truth is that if the protests are peaceful leaving others unharmed then yes it is absolutely leaving a positive impact. Although some protests, such as the one after the election, have only left more negativity and harm than intended to have, resistance to laws can either be positive or negative depending on how the situation…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Peaceful resistance to laws certainly has a positive impact on a free society. There are many examples of when peaceful resistance has positively impacted a free society from the past and even some events that have happened recently. One of the most famous instances is obviously Martin Luther King Jr. and his fight for Civil Rights. He lead by example and lead by his beliefs. In the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" he questions many southerners on how they could be Christian but turn a blind eye to how African Americans were being treated. Once he was out of jail he often preached this message as well. This changed the mind of many white southerners and helped Martin Luther King Jr. get more support.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over the past years we have experienced many peaceful resistance against a few laws. For example, Cesar Chavez decided to boycott the grape industry. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the "I Believe Speech" in front of many Americans. Those were great peaceful ways to make our country better. Many people may argue peaceful resistance may cause a negative impact on our free society, but I can strongly disagree with that. People who say it causes a negative impact is because they are scared of the truth.They feel if they ignore everything that is really going on it will be okay. No, peaceful resistance is not to make our country dangerous; on the contrary, it is to make our country stronger. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter when he was in jail, and…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil Rights

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The nonviolent organizations such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference led peaceful riots in Alabama and all over the Southeast states. Martin Luther King Jr., leader of many of these riots, was put in jail along with many other leaders of the rebellions because people did not want anything change. These groups simply wanted a better place to live because they feel that "justice too long delayed is justice denied" (MLK response 2). When it comes to being just and unjust in this argument of civil rights for African Americans, many believed the laws were unjust and in the words of St. Augustine "an unjust law is no law at all" (MLK response 2). These riots and organizations are a baby step in the civil rights movement for African Americans, but the peaceful protests only help with de jure segregation. The other parts of the United States were dealing with much worse riots and groups such as the Black Panthers and the concept of black power.…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays