The philosophy of non-violence as the tool to effect change in a society is generally credited to Henry David Thoreau. In 1848 the United States went to war with Mexico, a war which Thoreau opposed. When he refused to pay his taxes because he did not want his money contributing to the war he was jailed. While in jail he wrote the essay Civil Disobedience, which he argued that one has a moral obligation to break laws which are immoral and unjust even if it meant going to jail. He also argued that if an individual protests using civil-disobedience (not reacting to violence, discrimination or oppression with violence but using the moral fortitude of the non-violent action as the source for change. It was Thoreau's essay Civil Disobedience that had a profound influence on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In essence in the 1950's it inspired Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott, the 'Little Rock Nine' at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, the students who just sat until they were served at the Worthworth lunch counter. By the 1960's the 'sit-in' protests of the 1950's spilled over into the anti-war movement against the Vietnam War. The non-violent movement did have an impact upon American society, it definitely led to desegregation legislation of American society. Unfortunately, changing the laws in this country proved to be much easier than changing the mindset of some people. By the late 1960's the concept of non-violence stagnated and declined as Americans became increasingly frustrated with the war and the lack of meaning to the civil rights legislation. As a result the non-violent movement lost its luster and violence was on the rise again.