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Civil Rights Movement & NonViolent Strategy

The success of the Civil Rights Movement should be attributed in large part to the methods used by Martin Luther King and his followers, methods derived from Gandhi and others who espoused a philosophy of non-violence. The first speaker is the one who should be heeded, for the non-violent method is effective over time. Violence is a short-term solution at best and only escalates the level of retaliation. However, the second speaker should not be ignored given that there are instances where violence is justified, though not as a first-strike as the speaker suggests. The third speaker is simply advocating outright warfare, and this would be counter-productive and destructive in the extreme. An analysis of the way the Civil Rights Movement made use of a non-violent strategy, along with other aspects of the controversy, shows that the strategy actually used was the best.

There are numerous instances of violence in American history, often under similar circumstances to the case at hand, with a disaffected group seeking to protect itself or to assert a greater right. The American Revolution itself was a case of turning to violence, and many other cases would follow. As Richard Hofstadter notes, however, American violence lacks an ideology and is instead a series of spontaneous events (Wallace 3). One reason why violence in America has never become a coherent pattern is because violence does not fit the image we have developed of ourselves or our values (Wallace 7).

Hofstadter make an important distinction when he defines violence as acts which kill or injure persons or cause significant property damage. The use of force is another matter:

Acts of force are those which prevent the normal free action or movement of other persons, or which inhibit them through the threat of violence (Hofstadter 9).

The use of force is acceptable, for the non-violent sit-ins and demonstrations often have the effect of preventing the fr...

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Civil Rights Movement & NonViolent Strategy. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:15, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1702884.html