termed “constructive, nonviolent tension” in “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” When one citizen or a group of citizens peacefully disobeys the law and accepts punishment without resistance, it brings to public attention the injustice of certain laws. This civil disobedience makes the average person aware of the unjust laws within their government and creates a tension that moves society towards social and legal change away from injustice. Although many argue that this change would be more effectively accomplished through legal negotiation, often negotiation is not enough. In the case of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, for example, the legal successes could not have happened without the pressure put on the legislators by public
termed “constructive, nonviolent tension” in “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” When one citizen or a group of citizens peacefully disobeys the law and accepts punishment without resistance, it brings to public attention the injustice of certain laws. This civil disobedience makes the average person aware of the unjust laws within their government and creates a tension that moves society towards social and legal change away from injustice. Although many argue that this change would be more effectively accomplished through legal negotiation, often negotiation is not enough. In the case of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, for example, the legal successes could not have happened without the pressure put on the legislators by public