20th century America was a place of innovation and social revelations. The mass production of the Model T in the 1920s, for example, and the calculator being invented in the 1960s were just two examples of the exciting developments throughout the 1900s. Affordable forms of transportation and a simpler way to do math were not the only things breaking ground in the 20th century, however. The 1900s was the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, a series of political protests for equality for African Americans. While civil unrest lead to violent protests amongst the movement, in many situations, the Civil Rights Movement manifested itself in peaceful campaigns, none as effective as the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama. Throughout history, peaceful protest has undoubtedly served as one of the more effective forms of public dissent and the Montgomery Bus Boycott has proven to be the most influential and powerful form of protest in the Civil Rights Movement because it shed light on the racial problems in America, peacefully crippled the racist Montgomery transportation economy, and made civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. a household name. Slavery, an issue that tore America apart, had come to an end with the Thirteenth Amendment at the closing of the Civil War. An end to slavery, however, did not mean an end to prejudice. Even with the Fourteenth Amendment in place, an amendment that was supposed to “guard African Americans against discrimination” Jim Crow laws still separated blacks from whites in Southern America. The Jim Crow laws included laws that forced southern blacks to go to different schools, drink from different fountains, and use different doors. They were “laws and customs designed to keep black Southerners from exercising their rights.” Out of all the Jim Crow laws, however, the segregation on the busses in Montgomery, Alabama was arguably the most offensive. Blacks were forced to sit in the back of buses and had to give up their seats to any white passengers. Even with all this racial segregation, Jim Crow laws received little effective press, and black rights activists were just waiting for an opportunity to protest. That opportunity came on December 1, 1995 when an African American woman, Rosa Pa