##eau, Gandhi, And King And Henry David Thoreaus Civil...

Protests are the foundation of our country. It was our ancestors protesting against the British that started the revolution and led to what is now the United States of America. The methods of protesting have been changing. Instead of using violent tactics, such as war and destruction, reformers such as Thoreau, Gandhi, and King have brought about a more impactful way of protesting. Nonviolent protests are one of the most successful ways to bring about change, and it is through this method that we achieve our goals while at the same time keeping the peace. Setting a precedent even in the 21st century, Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience underlines the basis of nonviolent protests, and his essay has been used in the works of Gandhi and King. Civil†¦show more content†¦He introduces the idea of action from principle, which includes the commitment of striving for a better government. It doesn’t matter what one believes, but more of what one does to affirm their beliefs. T horeau reveals an opinion that has not been explored by many before. He puts the blame on slavery to the north, rather than the south. His reasoning behind this opinion is that the south believe that what they’re doing is right, meanwhile the north knows slavery is wrong yet fails to act against it. Thoreau poses three questions of what to do when being faced with unjust laws. He asks, â€Å"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?† His ideals have changed the ways most people view protests, and have inspired Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and other reformers throughout time. The ideas of nonviolent protests were not only around during the 18th century, but in the 20th century was well. The words of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi, two reformers of the 20th century, were heavily influenced by Civil Disobedience. The motives of Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham City Jail and Gandhi’s On Nonviolent Resistance were similar to Thoreau. All three men were tackling injustices within their time period, and believed that civil