What are the similarities/differences between King and Thoreau’s approaches to civil disobedience?Discuss

1. If you saw a man walk up to someone sitting in their car and open their door, pull them out of the car, and proceed to hit and kick them with force as the victim tries to defend themselves – would you be justified in intervening with force to stop the attacker?

2. Are democratic governments exempt from resistance?

3. What are the two powers of government?

4. People agree that peaceful options should be used first, but what if that doesn’t work?

5. What were the counter arguments to resistance?

Step 03: Watch this video about the Milgram experiments:

Step 04: Answer – How do the Milgram experiments show the difficulty of resisting those with authority?

Section 3: Henry David Thoreau

Step 01: Answer the following questions. Make sure to include page numbers in your responses.

1. Why does Thoreau reject the argument that reform should take place through voting alone?

2. Why is refusing to pay a tax less violent?

3. Does he argue that there should be no government?

Section 4: Martin Luther King Jr.

Step 01: Read pages 522-530

Step 02: Answer the following questions. Make sure to include page numbers in your responses.

1. What questions does King say people need to ask themselves before they resist?

2. What fault does he find with white moderates?

3. What are the similarities/differences between King and Thoreau’s approaches to civil disobedience?

Section 5: Nelson Mandela

Step 01: Read pages 530-540

 

Step 02: Answer the following questions. Make sure to include page numbers in your responses.

1. Why does Mandela support sabotage?

2. What makes sabotage different from other forms of protest?

3. Would Thoreau or King reject Mandela’s use of violence?

4. What are the similarities between Mandela and King?