--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Throughout American history, the…" description: "\"Throughout American history, the political leaders have always exhorted the American people to be nice and quiet and leave things to them. But when ver..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/howard-zinn-576_american-history_throughout-american-history-the-politica_1109014.jpg" --- # Throughout American history, the political leaders have… ![“Throughout American history, the political leaders have always exhorted the American people to be nice and quiet and leave things to them. But when very serious evils confronted the American people, they had to go beyond the Congressmen and Senators, and they had to commit civil disobedience and…” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/howard-zinn-576_american-history_throughout-american-history-the-politica_1109014.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/howard-zinn-576_american-history_throughout-american-history-the-politica_1109014.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/howard-zinn-576_american-history_throughout-american-history-the-politica_1109014.jpg) > “Throughout American history, the political leaders have always exhorted the American people to be nice and quiet and leave things to them. But when very serious evils confronted the American people, they had to go beyond the Congressmen and Senators, and they had to commit civil disobedience and they had even to break the law.” [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When grave injustice arises, citizens must sometimes defy legal authority to uphold moral principles. **In simple terms:** People must sometimes break laws for justice. Key Takeaway Act when conscience demands. Themes justice civil disobedience political responsibility Mood defiant inspirational Type political ethical When to use this quote - racial segregation protests - environmental direct action - whistleblowing - human rights advocacy Key Concepts moral law civil rights activism Questions to Reflect On - When is breaking the law justified? - How can activists balance legality and morality? A Different Perspective Legal consequences can be severe and may undermine public support if not carefully considered. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/) [American people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-people/) [Being nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-nice/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Civil disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-disobedience/) [Commit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commit/) [Congressman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/congressman/) [Disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Congressmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-congressmen-2944690/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-leader/) [Political leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-leaders/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Senators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senators/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) ## Related quotes > [I see a lot of individual action when it comes to environmental questions really as a form of politics as a way of communicating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/i-see-a-lot-of-individual-action-when-it-comes-to-environmental/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/civil-disobedience-is-not-our-problem-our-problem-is-civil-obedience-3/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is-2/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The problem in this world is not civil disobedience...th e problem in this world is civil obedience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-problem-in-this-world-is-not-civil-disobedience-th-e-problem-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Civil disobedience, as I put it to the audience, was not the problem, despite the warnings of some that it threatened social stability, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/civil-disobedience-as-i-put-it-to-the-audience-was-not-the-problem/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“The challenge remains. On the other side are formidable forces: money, political power, the major media. On our side are the people of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-challenge-remains-on-the-other-side-are-formidable-forces-money/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/civil-disobedience-is-not-our-problem-our-problem-is-civil-obedience-2/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [There is civil disobedience against the military machine, protest against police brutality directed especially at people of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-civil-disobedience-against-the-military-machine-protest/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Civil disobedience is not something outside the realm of democracy. Democracy requires civil disobedience. Without civil disobedience democracy does not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/civil-disobedience-is-not-something-outside-the-realm-of-democracy/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/civil-disobedience-is-not-our-problem-our-problem-is-civil-obedience/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [I see this as the central issue of our time: how to find a substitute for war in human ingenuity, imagination, courage, sacrifice, patience...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-see-this-as-the-central-issue-of-our-time-how-to-find-a-substitute/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We cannot be secure by limiting our liberties, as some of our political leaders are demanding, but only by expanding themWe should take our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-liberties-as-some-of-our/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [It is possible, reading standard histories, to forget half the population of the country. The explorers were men, the landholders and merchants men, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/it-is-possible-reading-standard-histories-to-forget-half-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) ## More by Howard Zinn > [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. The accumulation of knowledge, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-good-education-is-a-synthesis-of-book-learning-and-involvement-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/let-s-face-a-historical-truth-we-have-never-had-a-free-market-we-have/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-can-understand-pessimism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-not-simply/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/sexual-purity-was-to-be-the-special-virtue-of-a-woman-it-was-assumed/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Middle-class Americans might be invited to join a new elite by attacks against the corruption of the established rich. The New Yorker Cadwallader Colden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/middle-class-americans-might-be-invited-to-join-a-new-elite-by/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-those-in-charge-of-our-society-politicians-corporate-executives/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Explore all 461 Howard Zinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## More American history quotes > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/don-t-fire-until-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/) > [John Lane has long been recognized as one of the South's finest poets and memoirists. This debut establishes him as one of our finest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/john-lane-has-long-been-recognized-as-one-of-the-south-s-finest-poets/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The problem that we have is that most Americans don't even study American history, let alone Pinochet, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and all these guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-problem-that-we-have-is-that-most-americans-don-t-even-study/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We must not falsely teach American history in our schools. 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Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-patterson/) > [“dark say: berthenia belle never forget the tongue hid name”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathleen-margaret/dark-say-berthenia-belle-never-forget-the-tongue-hid-name/) [Cathleen Margaret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathleen-margaret/) > [Throughout American history many of our social gains and much of our progress toward democracy were made possible by the active intervention of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-washington/throughout-american-history-many-of-our-social-gains-and-much-of-our/) [Harold Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-washington/) > [Modern Democrats aren't the first political party to abuse power - far from it. Obama isn'€™t the first president to abuse executive power -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harsanyi/modern-democrats-aren-t-the-first-political-party-to-abuse-power-far/) [David Harsanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harsanyi/) > [Medicare and Social Security have created the healthiest and most financially secure generation of senior citizens in American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-walsh/medicare-and-social-security-have-created-the-healthiest-and-most/) [Jim Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-walsh/) > [The school curriculum today, particularly American history, is a shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-school-curriculum-today-particularly-american-history-is-a-shame/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“I used to walk out, at night, to the breakwater which divides the end of the harbor form the broad moor of the salt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/i-used-to-walk-out-at-night-to-the-breakwater-which-divides-the-end/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) [Browse all 685 American history quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Throughout American history, the political leaders have always exhorted the American people to be nice and quiet and leave things to them. 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