The impact of civil disobedience throughout history has changed how the world sees civil rights and equality that continues today. Civil disobedience is the refusal of citizens to obey certain laws or taxes as a peaceful way to express disapproval of those laws or taxes. Many activists throughout history have used civil disobedience as their "weapon of choice," from Henry Davis Thoreau to today's present activists that are implementing civil disobedience into their protests. Civil disobedience has definitely been a major element that has shaped the world into what it is today.
Henry David Thoreau, also known as the grandfather of civil disobedience, was born in Massachusetts, he lived from 1817 - 1862. He graduated from Harvard with a teaching…show more content… It is believed that the night in jail inspired him to write Civil Disobedience (Montalbin). In Thoreau's essay Civil Disobedience he discusses that there are unjust laws in the world. He proposes the question of "should we obey them or transgress them." "For it matters mot how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever"…show more content… Gandhi was inspired by Henry Davis Thoreau ("Mohandas Gandhi"). To Gandhi Thoreau was a teacher. 'While in South Africa he said `To American friends, you have given me a teacher in Thoreau, who furnished me through his essay of the `Duty of Civil Disobedience' scientific confirmation of what 1 was doing in South Africa'" (Montalbin), Gandhi led a march to protest Britain's salt tax. He led thousands of Indians from his religious retreat to the Arabian Sea Cost, 240 miles away. 60,000 people including Gandhi were arrested as a result of the march ("Salt March").
Gandhi's actions of civil disobedience got the Indians their freedom from Britain.
Unfortunately on January 30th, Gandhi was on his way to an evening prayer meeting when he was assassinated. Around 1,000,000 people followed Gandhi's body to the Holy Jumna River to watch him be cremated ("Mohandas Gandhi").
Martin Luther King, Jr. was affected by the legacy of Henry David