King And Thoreau Similarities

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Brandon Behee Professor Smith Eng 101 2 April 2011 Passive resistance has been a major “game changer” in history throughout the world. Two of the most important major influences of passive resistance were the works of philosopher Henry David Thoreau and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. These two men were able to make major changes not only in their local community but throughout our entire nation as well without using any kind of violence. Although these men lived in very different times and addressed very different topics, they used the concept of passive resistance to accomplish the change that they desired. Passive resistance has made a major change in the history of the United States and there are many great names that supported these ideas. Martin King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia and was a religious man just as his father was before him. On February 25, 1948, he was ordained and became associate pastor at Ebenezer. (http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/king_m.htm) Later in his career, he became a part of the civil rights movement in the United States through the bus boycotts in Montgomery. He was also a part of the beginning of a group called Montgomery Improvement Association or (MIA), this group would lead him into some of his biggest influences based on passive resistance. One of Kings major tools that he used to promote civil rights and to fight segregation were sit ins. During these sit ins, African Americans would go to a dinner in which they were not suppose to be served and try to order food and sit there until served. Police were often involved and On October 2, 1960 in Atlanta, King was arrested while participating in a sit in and spent the night in jail. (http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/king_m.htm) He was later arrested during a peaceful protest in Birmingham Alabama
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