The main goals for this paper is to compare and contrast the main ideas and views of the great pieces of literature: “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King and “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau. Both authors attempt to argue for the rights to disobey authority is there is social injustice. Both of these authors seem to have the same ideas and views, but Thoreau was writing during the mid 1800s during the time of slavery in America and King was writing in the 1960s during the time of severe racial discrimination in America. Because Thoreau came before King, he was a big influence for King and his writing. Although Thoreau was not the first to introduce these ideas, he may have been the first to bring it to the attention of many Americans.
Use of technology in the civil rights campaign is also a key turning point for the campaign as during the 60’s further advancements were made by national broadcasts showing ill treatment of activist in places such as Birmingham and Selma in Alabama, expanding further support for the Civil rights campaign internationally. James Farmer claimed “we felt we could count on the racists of the South to create a crisis so that the federal Government would be compelled to enforce the law” Along with this, Kings motivational ‘I have a dream’ speech in Washington DC 1963 can be argued to be the key factor as it leads to the Civil Rights Act of 1965. King has a significant role in the civil
Subject: The subject of this letter is to state the reason he is in Birmingham for trying to change segregation as social justice and his use of civil disobedience as an instrument of freedom. Occasion: Dr. King is writing this letter from inside Birmingham Jail for being accused of misuse of the law by performing in acts of civil disobedience to show his disappointment at the leadership of the clergy and laws that he and others of the black community deem as unjust. Audience: Although this letter was initially mailed to the eight white clergymen who publicly asked the black community to restrict their Birmingham demonstrations, King meant for his message to reach a much larger audience such as U.S. citizens. King used this letter as
Dr. Martin Luther King was a minister, an activist, a Nobel Peace Prize-winner, and a driving force in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. “The Ways of Meeting Oppression” is an excerpt from his 1958 book, Stride Toward Freedom. In this writing, King categorizes three ways humans have historically dealt with oppression: acquiesce, violence, and non-violent protest. Rather than presenting a simple persuasive argument, he appeals to the reader’s logos and presents the three topics categorically to help the reader come to a natural conclusion that extreme actions are often immoral, and that taking the middle road would prove more beneficial. King begins with acquiesce, an extreme behaviour with which the oppressed do nothing to fight injustice.
These examples would explain how the lives of Southerners would be ruined and that the country would come to an end if slaves were freed. On page 22, Dew gave portions of a speech, by Governor John J. Petus of Mississippi that was given to the state legislature. In this speech he said, “Secession was the only way to avoid the blight of Black Republicans politics and free Negro morals”, he continued to say that if slaves were freed, Mississippi would become “a cesspool of vice, crime and infamy” (22). Petus was attempting to rationalize that the state would become a haven of criminals if slaves were freed. What he was more than likely concerned with was the idea of losing the vast revenue accrued from slavery, but he used scare tactics to get approval for secession.
Shailey Lorenz Mr. Murphy English III P5 May 14, 2014 Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau both have relatively the same views on disobeying laws when social injustice occurs. Thoreau believes in citizens rights to protest against governments that are unjust. King talks about how the government laws against blacks are unjust and civil disobedience should be used to grab attention and receive freedom. They both implied throughout their readings that civil disobedience is an essence. The similarities are characterized through different occasions and their audience they are expressing their emotions toward.
They were pictured by the mass media as: “Malcolm X and his organization were teaching hate and violence”. According to Malcolm X, he was teaching blacks to understand their exploitation, to fight back when attacked, and to seize self-determination “by any means necessary”. As for violence he did advocate armed self-defense (only when under attack, the black people had the right to defend themselves). He argued that this doctrine would only detect and deflect racist violence, not cause it! While during that same time Martin Luther King, Jr., who was also a black civil right activist in America, taught to fight racism with love.
Challenge the authority While accepting the knowledge of authority, it is sometimes essential to question the ideas and decisions of those people in the positions of authority. We can see through Martin Luther King's actions that challenge the racism in the civil rights movement. In addition, through Galileo Galilei's doubt on the theory that most people used to believe. By protesting the authority and promoting the ideas of nonviolence and equal treatment for different races, Martin Luther King has received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Marin Luther King, a political activist, is the the most famous leader of the American civil rights movement.
A. Plan of Investigation The plan of investigation evaluates how the Children’s March of 1963 affected the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. In order to determine the significance impact that the march had on the movement, sources will show that before the march the movement was weakening and falling apart and Blacks no longer trusted the movement leaders or the government anymore. The investigation includes the use of A Testament of Hope the Essential Writing of Martin Luther King Jr., and March Luther King, these novels which depicts the respective of the Civil Rights Movement and the Children’s March of 1963. These two sources will be evaluated for their origin, purpose, values and limitations.
Malcolm X Racism is a problem that the American people have grappled with since colonial times. Malcolm X, who not only influenced the civil rights movement but attempted to solve the problem of racism in this country. On February 16, 1965, Malcolm X gave a speech called Not Just an American Problem, but a World Problem. In his speech he provides a theory of racism called image making which still has validity today. Malcolm X is right to argue that “when the law fails to protect Negroes from whites’ attack, then those Negroes should use arms, if necessary, to defend themselves” because they need to protect themselves, deserve respect, and have rights.