Civil Disobedience

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the historical success of civil obedience in invoking change, offering Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi as examples. It explains that a strong and charismatic leader and commitment to peace are vital for effective change. The paper also explores why civil disobedience did not work in the case of the Jews in Nazi Germany.

From the Paper:

"Both Gandhi and King served as leaders and role models and inspired others to follow their example. As skilled orators, both Gandhi and King spoke in public and addressed the concerns of their opponents reasonably and articulately. Gandhi and King had game plans: outlines for their goals and desired outcomes. The Jews had no such opportunity to organize. Although as Gandhi points out they lived as the untouchables of Europe and had been persecuted for centuries, the Jews had no prior impetus for practicing civil disobedience. When the Holocaust ensued, shock and fear paralyzed any attempts to organize a resistance movement. On the other hand, both in India and in the United States, public outcries provided a strong current of support for civil disobedience. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gandhi, Mohandas. "The Jews."
• Gandhi, Mohandas. "On Satyagraha, Nonviolence, and Civil Disobedience."
• King, Martin Luther. "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
• Tolstoy, Leo. "Nonviolence as a Life Principle."

More papers on Civil Disobedience:

• Analytical Essay # 130688 : "The Role of Civil Disobedience after World War II"
• Argumentative Essay # 72604 : "Civil Disobedience"
• Essay # 70149 : "Socrates and Civil Disobedience"
• Analytical Essay # 141337 : "Critique Of Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience"

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