Civil disobedience

Civil disobedience, form of political action involving intentional violation of the law in order to force concessions from a government or to draw attention to alleged injustices. Henry David Thoreau, in his 19th-century essay On Civil Disobedience, expounded on these methods, which were essential in Mohandas Gandhi's 20th-century struggle for India's independence and which have been employed by the suffragettes, the civil rights movement, and Vietnam War protesters. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an advocate of civil disobedience and used it successfully during his career.

See also: Thoreau, Henry David; Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand.