The active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, or commands of a government, often as a nonviolent means of protest.

• A. Civil War
• B. Nonviolent Resistance
• C. Civil Disobedience
• D. Legal Challenge

Answer: (C)

Civil disobedience is the deliberate, public refusal to obey certain laws or commands that are viewed as unjust, carried out in a nonviolent way to push for change. This description fits because it emphasizes both active disobedience and a peaceful approach intended to challenge government policy or social injustice. In history, this tactic has been central to movements like the Civil Rights Movement, where people refused to comply with segregation laws through actions such as sit-ins, protests, and peaceful demonstrations, accepting the legal penalties as part of the effort to expose injustice and spur reform. The idea behind civil disobedience is grounded in the belief that moral law should take precedence over unjust human laws, and that nonviolent disobedience can attract sympathy and moral pressure for change. It differs from armed conflict (which is not protest) and from legal challenges in court (which seek change through litigation rather than refusing to obey laws). It’s also a more specific form of protest than broader nonviolent resistance, which can include actions that don’t involve direct disobedience to specific laws.