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Kristin Mizell
December 11, 2017
Do the Right Thing
When I hear the term “civil disobedience,” I immediately think of
peaceful marches and sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement. I think of Martin
Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela going to jail for daring to speak out against
injustice. The idea of literature being a means for these movements to get the
word out did not cross my mind until this class. Words are powerful things, and
used correctly can help make positive change. In a time when ideas could get you
killed, ostracized, or imprisoned the works of Henry David Thoreau, Harriet
Beecher Stowe, and Levi Coffin all made powerful statements about doing what was
right.
The term “civil disobedience” means non-violent resistance to something
unjust. In the case of Thoreau, Stowe, and Coffin the unjust nature of slavery
caused them to take non-violent action and use the most powerful weapon they
had… their words. Standing up for what is right can take many forms, and if you
want to make change you have to get people to listen. No one wants to hear
someone shouting at them about how terrible they are. Going about things in a
violent manner can cause more harm than good. That does not mean that people
necessarily need to tiptoe around when making an important point about what is
unjust. For example, Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government” holds no
punches. Thoreau is not afraid to say what he means. His very first sentence
states, “I heartily accept the motto, ‘That
government is best which governs least’; and I should like to see
it acted up to more rapidly and systematically” (1). He comes out swinging, but
not with his fists. As an abolitionist we know Thoreau was against slavery, and
he talks about the unjust laws of slavery in this work. Thoreau states, “unjust
laws exist” and “if it is of such a
nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say,
break the law.” He calls for civil disobedience outright; if the law is unjust
you must break the law.
Harriet Beecher Stowe took a slightly different, but still powerful,
approach than Thoreau with her novel
Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She does not outright call for people to act out, she
shows examples of civil disobedience with her characters. She lets the reader
decide for himself or herself what to think, but the work is obviously meant to
humanize slaves for the South. Mrs. Bird is a great example of Stowe using her
characters in a clever way to promote her cause. Mrs. Bird is the wife of a
Senator, someone meant to uphold the law. She is a housewife and Stowe uses her
domestic sentimentality to show civil disobedience with Mrs. Bird claiming,
“It's a shameful, wicked, abominable law, and I'll break it, for one, the first
time I get a chance; and I hope I shall have a chance, I do! Things have
got to a pretty pass, if a woman can't give a warm supper and a bed to poor,
starving creatures, just because they are slaves, and have been abused and
oppressed all their lives, poor things” (9.23). Mrs. Bird does not step out of
line, the house is her domain and should a slave enter that domain she should be
able to be the hostess she is expected to be. Stowe is able to show a character
saying she will participate in civil disobedience in a way that would resonate
with white women in the south. Stowe also uses the way the slaves delay Mr.
Haley, the slave catcher, from going after Eliza as an example of passive
resistance. This example really helped define the term for me, the slaves did
not do anything obvious. An accident here, an accident there, and Eliza was
given a head start. They were not able to stop Mr. Haley outright, but they did
what they could to delay him. Stowe did an excellent job of helping make these
terms come to life.
Harriet Beecher Stowe knew of the works of Levi Coffin when she wrote
Uncle Tom’s Cabin and he greatly
influenced characters in her novel.
The Underground Railroad is a great example of civil disobedience at work.
Abolitionists worked together to form a network of safe havens for slaves to
make there way to freedom in defiance of slavery laws. Levi Coffin wrote
Reminiscences of Levi Coffin after
the Civil War was over, but his work detailed the civil disobedience at work
with the Underground Railroad. His participation in the Underground Railroad
cost him money and customers, but Coffin knew his work transcended any monetary
gain. In response to the loss of business he said, “If by doing my duty and
endeavoring to fulfill the injunctions of the Bible, I injured my business, then
let my business go” (4.8). Coffin’s work has a multitude of great examples of
accepting the consequences for speaking up, but knowing it is the right thing to
do. His faith as a Quaker really helped strengthen his beliefs in what he was
doing, he stated, “Many of my pro-slavery customers left me for a time, my sales
were diminished, and for a while my business prospects were discouraging, yet my
faith was not shaken, nor my efforts for the slaves lessened. New customers soon
came in to fill the places of those who had left me” (4.9). Although the road he
traveled was a difficult one, he knew it was right. This work is a wonderful
example of holding fast to your belief in what is right even when it is not
easy.
Throughout this course I have come to a much greater understanding of the
terms “civil disobedience” and “passive resistance.” With the works of Thoreau,
Stowe, and Coffin I was introduced to people who chose to use literature as a
form of action. Words can inspire people, and the words of these authors are
truly inspiring. Civil disobedience is an important tool that has been used time
and again throughout history. I greatly appreciate the broader understanding of
the topic I now have.
