Henry David Thoreau. Cesar Chavez. Mahatma Gandhi. and Martin Luther King Jr. have one thing in common: the doctrine of nonviolent protest. All started with a mission to alter the manner the authorities treated the people and all made a great impact on the manner protests and such civil rights missions were non merely accepted by the American populace. but taken into history by the jurisprudence shapers.
To see how much of an impact these work forces made on civil rights. a expression will be taken into the actions. attitudes. and beliefs of each adult male. to compare and contrast how each contributed to the doctrine of nonviolent protest. It can be said that “the blackwash of President Kennedy marked a major turning point in American history. In the twelvemonth following the President’s decease. America seemed to turn a corner. to focus on into a new stage of national being. a unusual new universe in which the concerns of 1963 seemed every bit antiquated as those of 1933.
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” It’s true that force has taken on a new significance since the blackwash of Kennedy. Never before had the universe seen something so barbarous done to a adult male so darling. Not merely was the blackwash a turning point in history. but it reminds the populace of the manner things were—when nonviolent protest had its topographic point and had a greater impact on alteration. And. from that minute. “the stage of alteration accelerated dreadfully. History seemed to run frontward like a gesture image with the projector out of control.
Before one’s eyes. eldritch metabolisms took topographic point: an undistinguished small war in Southeast Asia became a mammoth national endeavor ; peace-loving Negroes marching on Washington became hostile rabble. combustion and plundering virtually every major metropolis ; college pupils headed for the Peace Corps…became revolutionaries or flower peoples. ” It was a daze to the universe. alterations had been made without notice up until this point and nonviolent protests became a thing of the yesteryear.
Even now. protests hold an temptingness of danger. while nonviolent doctrines may still be considered by many seeking alteration. the sad fact is that the universe changed excessively much—perhaps. to follow in the stairss of the great work forces who made nonviolent alteration possible. Possibly the one adult male who can be said to hold started nonviolent protest is Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau is well-known for his 1849 Hagiographas entitled “Civil Disobedience. ” or. as it was originally published. “Resistance to Civil Government. ” The fact remains that “although seldom mentioned without mentions to Gandhi or King. ‘Civil Disobedience’ has more history than many suspect.
” Throughout its history. “Civil Disobedience” has been met with differing reactions. “in the 1940’s it was read by the Danish opposition. in the 1950’s it was cherished by those who opposed McCarthyism. in the 1960’s it was influential in the battle against South African apartheid. and in the 1970’s it was discovered by a new coevals of anti-war militants. ” No affair what his work was met with. the truth is that Thoreau’s message was needed. and desired by everyone who knew something was losing. But “ ‘Civil Disobedience’ is non [ merely ] an essay of abstract theory.
It is Thoreau’s highly personal response to being imprisoned for interrupting the jurisprudence. Because he detested bondage and because revenue enhancement grosss contributed to the support of it. Thoreau decided to go a revenue enhancement Rebel. There were no income revenue enhancements and Thoreau did non have plenty land to worry about belongings revenue enhancements ; but there was the despised canvass tax—a capital revenue enhancement levied every bit on all grownups within a community. ” Thoreau wanted to use his ain rules to his day-to-day life. but he. of class. ended up in prison and persecuted for his revenue enhancement offenses. Another adult male who was imprisoned for his theories and patterns was Cesar Chavez.
Chavez one time said that “I had a dream that the lone ground the employers were so powerful was non because they in fact had that much power. in footings of covering with the lives of their workers at will. but what made them genuinely powerful was that we were weak. And if we could somehow get down to develop some strength among ourselves. I felt that we could get down to be that. equilibrating their power in agribusiness. ” Chavez dreamed that workers would hold more rights. that a brotherhood could be formed to care for them. their rewards. and their civil rights. Chavez’s dream “inspired an organisation that did non look like a labour brotherhood.
His vision didn’t include merely the traditional staff of life and butter issues of unionism ; it was about repossessing self-respect for people who were marginalized by society. ” Indeed. Chavez did non see a steadfast labour brotherhood for his workers. he saw a new manner of life—freedom filled with self-respect. no affair the occupation. It was well-known that “Chavez placed harsher demands on himself than on anyone else in the motion. In 1968 he fasted ( the foremost of several fasts over his life-time ) . to recommit the motion to non-violence. In many ways the fast epitomized Chavez’s attack to societal alteration.
On one degree it represented his religious values. his willingness to give and make repentance. ” Chavez’s attack was the same as Thoreau’s. He believed that if he wanted something done. and had any theories about it—he would hold to perpetrate to it foremost. with more committedness than he expected of anyone else—and he did. Even more. Chavez had “accomplished something that no 1 else had of all time been able to make ; construct a brotherhood for farm workers. In the procedure he trained a coevals of militants who would use their accomplishments in other communities and battles.
” Chavez was alone in this. deriving regard while making a permanent community and brotherhood where the people had the same rights as farm workers as other work forces did in trade brotherhoods. Much can be said about Mahatma Gandhi’s impact on civil rights and nonviolent protest. His narrative begins in London where he “encountered theosophists. vegetarians. and others who were disenchanted non merely with industrialism. but with the bequest of Enlightenment idea. They themselves represented the periphery elements of English society. Gandhi was strongly attracted to them. as he was to the texts of the major spiritual traditions.
” And therefore began his endeavor into freedom and peace. In fact. Gandhi “initiated the non-cooperation motion. which called upon Indians to retreat from British establishments. to return awards conferred by the British. and to larn the art of autonomy ; though the British disposal was at topographic points paralyzed. the motion was suspended in February 1922 when a mark of Indian police officers were viciously killed by a big crowd…Gandhi himself was arrested shortly thenceforth. tried on charges of sedition. and sentenced to imprisonment for six old ages.
” And it wasn’t the last clip that Gandhi would pass in prison for taking to move upon his ain nonviolent political positions. A well-known incident affecting the “salt laws” concluded when Gandhi “picked up a little ball of natural salt. and so gave the signal to 100s of 1000s of people to likewise withstand the jurisprudence. since the British exercised a monopoly on the production and sale of salt. This was the beginning of the civil noncompliance motion: Gandhi himself was arrested. and 1000s of others were besides hauled into gaol.
” Again. Gandhi was imprisoned. and wittingly. for taking to move upon something he felt was unfair. What he did for the people. nevertheless. was to demo. in a nonviolent method—which was ever Gandhi’s way—how to protest without offense. ironically. even though his pick of protest did affect perpetrating a offense. From this minute on. Gandhi became known as the “Father of Freedom. ” doing his grade in a profound manner upon the universe of civil noncompliance. But a treatment of civil noncompliance would be nonexistent without doing note of Martin Luther King Jr. In fact. Martin Luther King Jr.
“spoke over 25 100 times. looking wherever there was unfairness. protest. and action ; and meanwhile he wrote five books every bit good as legion articles. In these old ages. he led a monolithic protest in Alabama…he directed the peaceable March on Washington. D. C. . of 250. 000 people to whom he delivered his reference. ‘I Have a Dream’…he was arrested upwards of 20 times and assaulted at least four times ; he was awarded five honorary grades ; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963 ; and became non merely the symbolic leader of American inkinesss but besides a universe figure.
” Of the work forces discussed so far. King is possibly the most inspiring of all. His methods brought the populace something ne’er seen before. and he did it with inspiration and profound conviction—which made him all the more powerful. In truth. King “came to the decision that the while the power of love was a compelling force when applied to single struggles. it could non decide societal jobs. He believed the doctrine of ‘turn the other cheek’ and ‘love your enemies’ applied merely to struggles between persons and non racial groups or states.
” King was like all the others: Gandhi. Chavez. and Thoreau. but he was the first and merely to be assassinated for his strong beliefs. King knew that the universe that stood before him was immune to alter. and that societal jobs and civil affairs required a different handling than any other affair. In his manner. nonviolent protests were the lone manner to convey about the alteration he envisioned in his “Dream. ” To eventually compare the work forces. it can be said the nonviolent protesting was the lone method that each could see in which to do alteration without showing injury for others.
But. none of the work forces feared for his ain personal safety. and they decidedly didn’t have a fright of persecution or of being imprisoned for their actions. Henry David Thoreau started the thought of civil rights and nonviolent protests with his work of “Civil Disobedience. ” but Martin Luther King Jr. finished it with his address in forepart of 100s of 1000s. His address is so celebrated it is familiar to the heads of simple school pupils.
In fact. King made such an feeling on the American populace that Black History Month was named. to honour him. and of class. the other outstanding people of colour who came before and after King to do alteration within the universe. Overall. it can be said that Henry David Thoreau. Cesar Chavez. Mahatma Gandhi. and Martin Luther King Jr. were all laminitiss within the motion of civil noncompliance. and particularly. nonviolent protests. Their doctrines are all the same: equal rights. merely intervention of people by the authorities. and brotherhoods to protect and function the on the job people.
In true manner. each adult male was arrested for his actions. released. and made into a sufferer and Jesus of the people. All started with a mission to alter the manner the authorities treated the people and all made a great impact on the manner protests and such civil rights missions were non merely accepted by the American populace. but taken into history by the jurisprudence shapers. And all created a great impact on civil rights and the doctrine of nonviolent protest. Bibliography. Downing. Frederick. Bearing the Cross: A Review. Theology Today. 48 ( 2 ) . 390-394. Garrow. David. ( 2004 ) .
Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King. Jr. . and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. New York: William Morrow. Haberman. Frederick ( Ed. ) . ( 1972 ) . Nobel Lectures: Nobel Peace Prize Edition. Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing. Jhaveri. Vithalbhai. ( 2006 ) . Mahatma Gandhi. UCLA Online. Retrieved May 1. 2009 from the universe broad web: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. sscnet. ucla. edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/gandhi. hypertext markup language Lenat. Richard. ( 2009 ) . Civil Disobedience. Thoreau Reader. Retrieved April 30. 2009 from the universe broad web: hypertext transfer protocol: //thoreau. eserver. org/civil. html McElrath. Jessica. ( 2000 ) . Martin Luther King’s Philosophy on Nonviolent Resistance. African American History Online.
Retrieved May 1. 2009 from the universe broad web: hypertext transfer protocol: //afroamhistory. about. com/od/martinlutherking/a/mlks_philosophy. htm McElroy. Wendy. ( 2005 ) . Henry Thoreau and ‘Civil Disobedience. ’ Future of Freedom Foundation. reprinted in Thoreau Reader. Retrieved April 30. 2009 from the universe broad web: hypertext transfer protocol: //thoreau. eserver. org/wendy. hypertext markup language Rubenstein. Richard. ( 1970 ) . Johnny rebs in Eden: The Structure of Mass Political Violence in America. Boston: Little. Brown and Company. Tejada-Flores. Rick. ( 2004 ) . Cesar Chavez. PBS Online. Retrieved April 30. 2009 from the universe broad web: hypertext transfer protocol: //www. phosphate buffer solution. org/itvs/fightfields/cesarchavez. hypertext markup language
