...During the years 1955 – 1964 there were a significant amount of peaceful protests organised by groups like the SCLC, SNCC and NAACP. During this period there was a significant change in the progress of racial equality and it is clear that peaceful protest was a direct cause of the change. Earlier protests did things such as raising awareness, making smaller changes to state laws and showing that blacks had power without using violence. Later and bigger protests such as the March of Washington made bigger changes such as pushing towards the Civil Rights Bill. During the late 1950s and early 1960s the main forms of peaceful protest were the sit- ins, freedoms rides and Montgomery Bus Boycott in. The sit-ins in 1960 were important to the civil rights movement because they raised a lot of awareness when they spread to 54 cities in 9 states in just 2 months. They were also important because they showed that despite the fact the black protestors were not being violent, white racists would still react violently. The Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956 was significant because it showed the effect that black Americans can have economically and also the power they could have without using violence. The violence black people involved in the boycott received from white southern racists showed their determined racism. The bus boycott raised more northern support and inspired boycotts in other cities and caused the buses to be desegregated, however the rest of the city remained segregated. The...
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...Sometimes that resistance becomes violent, and sometimes it stays peaceful, but overall we try to get the point across to our government. I believe peaceful resistance to laws positively affects a free society, and we should cherish the right to resist unjust laws. Peaceful resistance to laws gets the point across, does not destroy property, and actually makes a change. Throughout American history we have resisted our government’s overreach into our freedom. If thousands of people show up to peacefully resist a law it means something to the politicians. Look, for example, at the Civil Rights Movement. During that movement there were thousands of people who...
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...How far was the effectiveness of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s limited by internal divisions? (30 marks) During the Civil Rights Movement great improvements were made gradually for the small minority groups in USA, for example Black African Americans, Hispanic groups and also women. However, from the very beginning there were internal divisions within the civil rights movement as well as external divisions. These partitions were caused by four major factors; methods such as peaceful protest and violence, ideology, effects of tension from jealousy and rivalry and lastly personalities of the different civil rights organisations and their leaders as they were competing for media attention and public recognition. These divisions did limit the effectiveness of the civil rights movement as they slowed down the process and cause many complications. These divisions were extremely clear thought out the 1960s as there was the development of Black Power and their methods of violence which is a contrast to Martin Luther King’s approach which was peaceful protest. In the early 1960s many successes came about for the civil rights movement especially for SNCC and of Martin Luther King. The Greensboro sit-ins led by SNCC in 1960 is an example of a triumph as they demonstrated that civil rights campaigns could spread quickly and also showed that other organisations could work together as the sit-ins attacked all aspects of segregation and it lead to the extending of the existing NAACP...
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...decade most known for its high level of civil rights and free speech reform activity, the Civil Rights Movement reached its peak as protests spread through the nation. Upon the late 50’s, many of America’s college youth had organized themselves into activist groups, promoting their rights to support off-campus causes. The University of California in Berkeley was one of the many that faced this student commotion. A minority of the university’s students actively engaged themselves in the Civil Rights cause. In an effort to lessen the student’s ability to promote causes such as these, Berkeley officials took legal precautions towards preventing on-campus political activities by initiating a ban. In the fall semester of 1964,...
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...Peaceful resistance positively impacts the free society in which we live. Through peaceful resistance, one can express their views without the violence or uproar that often comes with it. It has solved many fundamental problems in the US government. Henry David Thoreau expressed his distaste for the Mexican-American war by refusing to pay his poll taxes. He did not believe in no government, did not want to start an uprise, or create an anarchy but instead create a more just government. Thoreau wanted a government in which protected its people and was fair to all. He also opposed slavery and wanted equal rights for all. “There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition...
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...A Commitment to Non-Violent Protests: As an African American teenager and student in 1968, I’ve gotten used to facing violent opposition and being around inconsiderate and unsympathetic whites. It has recently come to my attention that not enough people understand how effective non-violent protest has been to our lives. The Civil Rights Movement has definitely made people, including me, realize how important their voice and opinion can be, which has significantly changed America. Peaceful protests work far better than taking a violent approach to it. With nonviolent protests, there are fewer obstacles to conquer and less physical involvement and commitment. Even though some non-violent protests are not successful and fail to achieve their...
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...Peaceful resistance has a positive impact on a free society and is a positive consequence of it. The people of today belong in a free society, and the many countries and regions that have a constitution that protects the freedoms of its people should protect the ones who can’t. Peaceful protest is one way for free society to stand in unity with people who can’t speak for themselves. That idea was recently exposed in the wake of President Trump’s selective immigrant ban. The people who came out to peacefully protest were standing up for the free society in the place where they lived so that it could benefit the people of an entirely different place. Without peaceful protest, there is no way to genuinely make a change. Violence is a powerful...
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...American Civil Rights Background Timeline of events / Personalities 1860: Abraham Lincoln elected US president. * Made the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, a law which would see the release of all slaves in America. * Belief that the slaves should be freed was a key factor in sparking the American civil war. 1861: The American Civil War begins at fort Sumter. * Fought between the United States of America, who opposed slavery, and the Confederate States of America, a new nation established by seven slave states in the south. * Not the only reason for the civil war, slavery was a key issue being fought over. 1865: The 13th amendment is passed, permanently outlawing slavery. * Shortly after the surrender of all confederate forces, ending the civil war. 1866: The civil rights act is passed by Congress. * The first to define US citizenship as well as state that all citizens were protected by the law. * It is expected that the act was passed, despite being vetoed repeatedly by President Andrew Johnson, in order to protect the rights of African-Americans. 1870: The 15th amendment is passed, giving the black man the right to vote. 1875: A bi-racial senate and House of Representatives passes the civil rights act. * Designed to protect all Americans in their access to accommodations and facilities such as restaurants. * Never enforced and was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme court in 1883 1896: The Supreme Court introduces...
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...Birmingham movement was a culmination of King’s ideas, theology, experiences and civil rights tactics’. How far do you agree with this statement? Martin Luther King undoubtedly played a key role in helping black people win civil rights through the Birmingham movement in 1963. However it can be argued that his leadership though effective was only partly responsible for the gains made by the campaign; as the opposition changed their tactics, Martin Luther King’s ideas and theologies were tested and therefore he was made to harness alternative strategies that had been initiated by other civil rights activists. Essentially the Birmingham movement was crafted to allow the best possible outcome. King preached a distinctive philosophy based on the teachings of Jesus and the example of Mohandas Gandhi. He believed that all Christians should love their enemies and never retaliate. Nonetheless, he also taught that Christians should stand up to injustice. Consequently, he advocated civil disobedience and direct action, insisting that protest should always be peaceful. The perseverance shown through peaceful protest won mass support from both the public and media making it difficult for Federal government to ignore demands. King involved in provoking the authorities but it can be said that the brutality stimulated from such protests was what gave King the upper hand; it provided him with the driving force to challenge the system. Peaceful protest was applied to the Birmingham movement, since...
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...Why did the Civil Rights movement become fragmented after 1966? The civil rights movement became fragmented after 1966 for a number of reasons such as the difference between peace and violent methods, legal campaigns, collaboration with whites and the difference between separation or integration. The decision to use peaceful or violent protests was one of the reasons as to why the civil rights movement became fragmented after 1966. King advocated that protests should remain peaceful in order for them to get what they want. He showed he could do this by having many peaceful marches for example the March on Washington which JFK feared would become violent but King proved him wrong. However, after the Meredith shooting CORE and SNCC put an emphasis on more radical ways such as self-defence and the use of violence. Leader of SNCC Stokely Carmichael argued that black people needed to use violence to defend themselves. Therefore, this caused the civil rights movement to become fragmented because the difference of violent and non-violent protests caused divisions between the civil rights groups. Another reason the civil rights campaign became fragmented after 1966 was the disagreement of whether or not using the legal system was an effective method of advancing civil rights. The NAACP and SCLC fought for legal change and were committed to working with the American legal system. However, the lack of legal segregation in the north meant that black Americans in northern states didn’t...
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...I believe that the peaceful resistance to unjust laws do in fact positively impact a free society. In order to properly display and explain my reasoning, I must first provide the definition of what an unjust law is. An unjust law is any law that does not align with the natural law as known by reason and common sense. Once one is able to understand this definition, it is easier to explain the positive impact that peaceful resistance has on a free society. The effect is positive because it gives voice to unjust laws. I would like to use the example provided of “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” written by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. One of the first points that Dr. King address is that he knows that he is supposed to be in jail. He peacefully resisted and accepted the given consequences. The later goes on to explain what peaceful resistance is and how to properly achieve it. He...
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...Peaceful resistance to laws does have a positive impact on a free society. Peaceful resistance such as; protests, marching for a cause, and strikes are healthy to a society because they give a way for the citizens to voice their opinions to make sure their society is truly free. One of the best examples of peaceful disobedience is in the civil rights movements with Martin Luther King Jr. and his peaceful disobedience, another peaceful disobedience is with Rosa Parks in her fight for racial equality, and the marches and strikes from the Mexican American plantation workers. These examples had a positive impact on the society and helped make America as free as it is today, along with examples of peaceful protesting today for greater freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. is well known for his participation in the Civil Rights movement and has gone down in history as an example of how peaceful protesting can promote positive change. One of the ways that he did this was by writing letters from inside Birmingham jail. The letters that Martin...
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...“Letter from Birmingham Jail” In the 1950’s and well through the 1960’s, Martin Luther King Jr. was the main leader of the civil rights movements. There was violence in innocent protesting, cruel bombings, and soul poured speeches. The Civil Right movements, involving people of both skin colors, measured up to a very large sum of events, both implementing segregation and the fight against the segregation. King had experienced many events, both eye opening and cruel, both strong and solid with morals. Yet throughout the turmoil between the differences of both races King did not fail to speak his word. MLK did not fail to make know that what segregation stood for was wrong and treacherous. King did not underestimate his ability to be unwavering...
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...Peaceful Resistance Throughout the history of America, there have been many peaceful and violent resistances to laws that people did not agree with. Events like the Woman’s Suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Boston Tea Party are some of the most popular protests in American history. Though not all always work, peaceful resistance to laws have a positive impact on the society and the people in it. In a society, the government’s goal is to protect and serve to people in that society. With that comes making laws to try and accomplish the protection and service of the people. But as it is in any society, there will be people that are going to disagree with some of those laws. For example, the Civil Rights Movement in 1954 was a peaceful protest that ended up being very positive for the community. “The outcome was a landmark for black equality that initiated Civil Rights Movement.” (Bill of Rights Institute) The Civil Rights Movement gave the entire black community equal rights, which had a positive impact on them and the rest of the community because it brought people closer to each other and there was much less segregation between people. There has to be a balance between the government’s contribution to laws and the society’s contribution to laws. “If...
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...the pain of the segregated lives. MLK with his heroic traits spread awareness about the torture and was able to gain significant civil advances and voting rights for African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. embodies the characteristics of an epic hero...
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