Theories Of Civil Disobedience

“When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw,” said former South African prime minister Nelson Mandela. Mandela lived during the Apartheid, a period similar to America’s segregation system. The South African government set laws in place to prevent racial equality, but in the face of oppression, Mandela and his followers staged many acts of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience acts, not as a hindrance of free society, but as a tool to disband oppressive governments.

According to the social contract theory, we created government to protect our rights. We sacrificed our power for the greater good of humanity, but where power exists, corruption rests two steps ahead. Henry David Thoreau, a renown philosopher from the Transcendentalism period, believed when the government abuses its power, citizens must stand up and rebel. In his essay Civil Disobedience, he states, “all men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to pledge allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when it’s tyranny and inefficiency are great and unendurable.” Thoreau believes when the government puts in place unjust laws, we must disobey at once. If we follow along blindly, we act as sheep awaiting the slaughter. Through
The government passed laws to continue the segregation of schools, bathrooms, and even water fountains. To combat white supremacy, civil rights activists began using acts of civil disobedience. They used methods such as sit-ins and protests to spread the word about the oppression they faced. These methods often led to their arrests, kidnappings, and deaths. Nevertheless, through their courageous sacrifices, they earned many rights for people of color. Their acts of civil disobedience gave them the power to liberate people of color whom the government