What Made Non-Violence Work
What Made Non-Violence Work?
In the Twentieth Century, the great leaders Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. all used non-violence to bring about change to their respective countries. What made nonresistance work was the charisma of the leaders to persuade the people to not fight back, the peaceful protests, the leaders’ willingness to accept their punishments, and their struggle for unity.
In order for non-violence to work, people have to be non-violent. Each of these leaders were so powerful that they convinced even aggressive people to fight by not fighting. In Mandela’s case, he viewed nonresistance as the only way to bring democracy to everyone in South Africa because the government was many times more powerful than the movement (document 3). If Mandela had used violence, his people would have been hopelessly crushed and would remain oppressed. Martin Luther King persuaded all volunteers to give up all possible weapons before going to protest (document 5). He convinced the volunteers that all they needed to have was the ideology that they were right. Gandhi wrote a letter to Lord Irwin stating that if something is not done about the injustice of the British, he would lead a …show more content…
Mandela campaigned for volunteers to not retaliate even when they are being attacked (document 6). He convinced people fighting back would ultimately lead to their failure. King took part in counter sit-ins where black people peacefully protested segregated lunch counters (document 1). The peace of the movement showed how extreme and hateful the majority of white people were at the time. After Gandhi was arrested, one Englishman documented Mme. Naidu leading a peaceful protest that lead to hundreds of people getting beat without flinching a muscle (document 4). The cruelty was so great that even the Englishman had to turn away from the gross and sickening
In the Twentieth Century, the great leaders Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. all used non-violence to bring about change to their respective countries. What made nonresistance work was the charisma of the leaders to persuade the people to not fight back, the peaceful protests, the leaders’ willingness to accept their punishments, and their struggle for unity.
In order for non-violence to work, people have to be non-violent. Each of these leaders were so powerful that they convinced even aggressive people to fight by not fighting. In Mandela’s case, he viewed nonresistance as the only way to bring democracy to everyone in South Africa because the government was many times more powerful than the movement (document 3). If Mandela had used violence, his people would have been hopelessly crushed and would remain oppressed. Martin Luther King persuaded all volunteers to give up all possible weapons before going to protest (document 5). He convinced the volunteers that all they needed to have was the ideology that they were right. Gandhi wrote a letter to Lord Irwin stating that if something is not done about the injustice of the British, he would lead a …show more content…
Mandela campaigned for volunteers to not retaliate even when they are being attacked (document 6). He convinced people fighting back would ultimately lead to their failure. King took part in counter sit-ins where black people peacefully protested segregated lunch counters (document 1). The peace of the movement showed how extreme and hateful the majority of white people were at the time. After Gandhi was arrested, one Englishman documented Mme. Naidu leading a peaceful protest that lead to hundreds of people getting beat without flinching a muscle (document 4). The cruelty was so great that even the Englishman had to turn away from the gross and sickening