Peaceful Protests: Civil Disobedience In The United States

Civil disobedience allows for vast changes in government. U.S. Citizens have been able to ban together and organize nonviolent protests which have lead to increased rights to minorities, workers and women. These protests allow people to be heard, and play an active part in government. The most successfully protests tend to be large, nonviolent, and public. This allows for the idea to be shared with others, showing many find the law unjust, while still retaining the credibility of the protesters.
When large groups of people protest a certain cause, it allows the public to catch a glimpse of the amount of people support a cause. On August 28, 1963, over 200,000 americans gathered in D.C. to clarify the political and social challenges African Americans were faced with. This event was televised, allowing for the public to see a great push for racial justice and equality. Occupy Wall Street, was yet another televised demonstration protesting the vast income gap in the country. Protesters camped in parks and held marches in New York's financial district. This

The Second Amendment gives people of the United States the right to "peaceably assemble," and protesters are just using this right as a means of working for change. The protesters are showing their disapproval for a law but, they are still following the law by being peaceful. Thoreau set the example for peaceful, public protest when he refused to pay a tax. He simply wrote a letter that said, "I, Henry Thoreau, do not wish to be regarded as a member of any incorporated society that I have not joined." People who march in protest are simply doing the same thing as Thoreau. Those who oppose public protests believe that large public demonstrations inevitably cause property damage. However, the vast majority of peaceful protesters respect property — they only want to draw attention to injustice, not cause problems for other