Take a few steps back, back to when a group of colonists arrived with humble aspirations to start a life free from religious persecution. Take a step forward, in the direction of economic growth, when the little thirteen colonies were no longer scattered colonies, barely making ends meet, but rather a formidable force with abundant resources. Now tip toe through the silent anger that fumed at the unreasonable taxes that burdened the middle class. Britain’s mercantilistic shadow and unjust legislation suffocated the colonists, setting the stage of the greatest feat of American perseverance: the American Revolution. Though many causes can be attributed to the American Revolution there was one that stands above all: civil disobedience. It was
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Let’s take a step out of the country, across the Pacific Ocean, trudge against the waves of the Philippine Sea, sidestep through the gulf of Thailand and enter the Bay of Bengal and march north until you touch Indian soil. Now bolt through time to the Indian revolution when British colonial oppression mimicked the oppression in the colonies, when a man was beaten for refusing to give up his seat for a European. Step into that time, when thousands trekked 241 miles to the Arabian Sea, protesting British monopoly on salt, which squeezed the pockets of the poor. The salt march resulted in over 60,000 arrests including their leader Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi had been a leader in civil disobedience and avid participant. In 1907 Gandhi refused to obey a law passed by the Boer legislature that required all Indians to register with the police and be fingerprinted, consequently he was arrested. While in jail, Gandhi was first exposed to Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience,” which profoundly impacted Gandhi’s ideology that carried India to Independence. Thoreau discusses the necessity to put conscience above law, since laws cater to the majority. India’s revolutionary movement embodies the idea of oppression and majority. Although Indians were the majority population in India, the British represented the “majority mindset” by dictating laws based on their needs and eliminating the representation of Indians. Gandhi’s actions accentuated not only the lack of representation in the government but also the power of the
Let’s take a step out of the country, across the Pacific Ocean, trudge against the waves of the Philippine Sea, sidestep through the gulf of Thailand and enter the Bay of Bengal and march north until you touch Indian soil. Now bolt through time to the Indian revolution when British colonial oppression mimicked the oppression in the colonies, when a man was beaten for refusing to give up his seat for a European. Step into that time, when thousands trekked 241 miles to the Arabian Sea, protesting British monopoly on salt, which squeezed the pockets of the poor. The salt march resulted in over 60,000 arrests including their leader Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi had been a leader in civil disobedience and avid participant. In 1907 Gandhi refused to obey a law passed by the Boer legislature that required all Indians to register with the police and be fingerprinted, consequently he was arrested. While in jail, Gandhi was first exposed to Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience,” which profoundly impacted Gandhi’s ideology that carried India to Independence. Thoreau discusses the necessity to put conscience above law, since laws cater to the majority. India’s revolutionary movement embodies the idea of oppression and majority. Although Indians were the majority population in India, the British represented the “majority mindset” by dictating laws based on their needs and eliminating the representation of Indians. Gandhi’s actions accentuated not only the lack of representation in the government but also the power of the