Gandhi Influences

During the 20th century many changes to history occurred because of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is a peaceful public violation or stand against laws that a person, group, or mass of people can orchestrate. People that commit acts of civil disobedience believe that this is the correct way to produce change in something they believe, and the need to prioritize one's believe over the dictates of laws, but to do so in a peaceful manner rather than in violent and harsh manners. Because of these acts of civil disobedience people all over the world have started to take a stand against things that they believe are unjust. I believe that Mahatma Gandhi was one of the main reasons this wave and revolution of civil disobedience occurred.

Although the idea of civil disobedience had been around long before Gandhi made the idea of civil disobedience well known throughout Europe, Asia, and the United states. Henry David Thoreau pioneered this modern theory in an essay he wrote in 1849 entitled "Civil Disobedience." In this essay Thoreau dictates and supports the idea of A person is not obligated to spend their life to eliminate evils from the world, but he is obligated not to participate in those evils. (Thoreau source 1).

A wonderful example of how this theory has played out in history is Mahatma Gandhi's widely unviversally known acts of civil disobedience. Gandhi was impressed with Thoreau's theory and he even quoted

"Thoreau was a great writer, philosopher, poet, and withal a most practical man, that is, he taught nothing he was not prepared to practise in himself. He was one of the greatest and most moral men America has produced. At the time of the abolition of slavery movement, he wrote his famous essay "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience". He went to gaol for the sake of his principles and suffering humanity. His essay has, therefore, been sanctified by suffering. Moreover, it is written for all time. Its incisive logic is unanswerable"

Gandhi

truly believed in what Thoreau had argued. And had great chance to put forth those beliefs in events that occurred because of Gandhi. Gandhi

strived for Indian independence againts the british. And many indian peoples had started to follow gandhi and his believes because in him they saw promise of a better, more just government. Gandhi urged the people to boycott British educational institutions and law courts, to resign from government employment, and to forsake British titles and honours. And with his rapidly growing following many Indians did just that. One of Gandhi's biggest acts of civil disobedience is the Salt March, or the Salt Satyagraha. When the British occupied India they had a monopoly on the production of salt. British monopoly on the salt trade in India stated that the sale or production