Forms of power - BAC anglais

To what extent is civil disobedience central in American history?

Introduction

Civil disobedience is the act by a group of people refusing to obey laws and follow

the government expressing their disapproval in order to persuade the

government to change their laws. Throughout the American history, we can see

many manifestations from american civilians for many different reasons. This is

why today we will study the following thesis: T o what extent is civil disobedience

central in American history?

We will first differentiate the different forms of protest seen throughout

american history, then how the americans protested against the Vietnam war,

and finally the impact on today’s society.

Throughout American history we have seen many forms of protest for different

reasons. There are forms of protest like written demonstrations, civil

disobedience and domains like social, economics or politics. First there could be a

march against a cause. Like in 1969, the march against the Vietnam war. Even

today marches are still being organised, like the Pride march. There is also a

more cultural and artistic aspect of protesting like writing a song. Or even

writing a book or making a film to raise awareness to the society. And last, the

place where we can see the most civil disobedience and where people tend to

influence others is the media. Many articles are made to defend or denounce a

cause.

As we have seen before Americans have protested against the Vietnam

war. In 1969, a march was organized against the Vietnam war. Millions of

civilians marched in the American streets protesting for peace in Vietnam. A

peace moratorium was made in hope to stop the war. Next we have another

document where people are protesting in a hope to stop the Vietnam war. It is a

song called Bring em home written by Pete Seeger that suggest to bring home

the soldiers in war. It also shows how war has an impact on the society, and how

people can protest against a cause. And last is a speech called Beyond Vietnam:

A time to break silence by Martin Luther King on the 4th of april 1967. Where he

denounces the US government and how terrible is the Vietnam war. He is asking

for peace and wants to stop the war. He even compares the US government to

the nazis because for him sending american soldiers to the Vietnam war and the

war in general is a crime.

However, in any war the economy and financial aspect of the country

decreases because of infrastructure damages, weapons production, sending

troops… The money is mainly saved up for war. Yet, some people think it can be

saved up for something other than a pointless war or violence. Furthermore, in

the speech by Obama in 2002 where more than 10000 of civilians marched

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