As Shinpei Eto is known to have been executed for causing the Tosa War, a revolt by family with samurai ancestors in 1874, this period of the Jiyu Minken Undo movement was characterized by the antigovernment movement led by members of the former samurai class (Shizoku) and often erupted into violence.
江藤新平が建白書の直後に士族反乱の佐賀の乱（1874年）を起こし、死刑となっていることで知られるように、この時期の自由民権運動は政府に反感を持つ士族らに基礎を置き、武力闘争と紙一重であった。