Non-Compliance Is an American Virtue That Stretches Back to Abolitionism

FEE's Olivia Rondeau writes, "Some may see the 'we will not comply' movement as a modern trend, but civil disobedience has a rich history in America. As Amy Swearer of the Heritage Foundation points out, the phrase harkens back to the anti-slavery abolitionist movement.'Non-compliance with federal laws mandating the return of escaped slaves was rampant throughout northern states prior to the Civil War,' Swearer wrote in The Argus Observer. 'In 1850, the Vermont legislature went so far as to pass a law effectively requiring state judicial and law enforcement officers to act in direct opposition to the federal Fugitive Slave Law.'

The phrase “we will not comply” and sentiments of civil disobedience have become increasingly popular.

While some will see this as a modern trend, @rondeaulivia shows that civil disobedience has a rich history in America. https://t.co/hqbLbCfdgK — FEE (@feeonline) September 9, 2021

Non-compliance continued on to become the driving force behind the Civil Rights Movement.

'Some of the most revered figures of the Civil Rights Era were actually brought to the national spotlight by acts of non-compliance,' says Hannah Cox of FEE. 'Rosa Parks refused to comply with a city ordinance mandating segregated buses that would force her to the back of the bus. Hundreds refused to comply with state laws by engaging in sit-ins. Martin Luther King, Jr. had several stints in jail for his repeated refusals to comply with court orders.”

Read the entire column here.