Civil Disobedience

A detailed Summary of Civil Disobedience


Because civil disobedience includes the violation laws, it is difficult to conclude whether an act is one of civil disobedience, or lawbreaking. During times of social strife- when a society is divided in opinion- there exists much controversy over whether or not certain acts of protest are qualified as civil disobedience. Within their definitions, the differences between civil disobedience and lawbreaking are clear. However, it is difficult to decipher whether a certain act is one of civil disobedience or lawbreaking, especially during a time when a society is divided and its differing opinions are non-negotiable.

The Declaration of Conscience against the War in Vietnam, written by David Dellinger et al in 1965, is a prime example of the difficulty in arguing whether an act is lawbreaking or civil disobedience. The Declaration of Conscience broke the law in its counseling of others to refuse to serve for the Vietnam War. Those who signed the Declaration were aware of their violation of law; it was noted that the signing or distribution of the Declaration of Conscience "might be construed as a violation of the Universal Military Training and Service Act." It is clear that the Declaration violated laws. However, to some, it was


Lawbreaking and civil disobedience have differing purposes, goals, motivations and intended actions. In his essay "Civil Disobedience", Henry David Thoreau writes, "Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?" (Thoreau). The purpose of civil disobedience, in other words, is to call attention to an unjust law, and ultimately change it. The civilly disobedient desire to change a law based upon their moral principles, and, by acting upon these principles, seek to benefit society. Furthermore, because they are prepared to accept the punishment for their lawbreaking, hoping to draw attention to the unjust law, the civilly disobedient prove their intents to be entirely selfless.

An act of civil disobedience must also be motivated by morality. Thoreau stated in his essay, "If the law is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law" (Thoreau). Those who opposed the Vietnam War did so because causing injustice to other human beings was not moral. The Declaration stated, "The use of the military resources of the United States in Vietnam and elsewhere suppresses the aspirations of the people for political inde

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Category: Politics

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