Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

There are many historical documents that stand against the strains of time; not because of the person who wrote it, but instead because of the emotions the contents of the documents induce. Letters are meant to be personal, but when they are of political importance, letters often have the potential to step into the spotlight despite this fact. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was only written in response to a letter from eight clergymen, and yet it was so powerful it was able to reach the mass public. King likely knew the letter would not be kept private, and so used that to his advantage in his rhetoric. King was calculated in his plan of attack. Because he was a man of God, he did not approach the civil rights movement with violence in mind, but instead peace. This letter was part of his plan. King’s purpose in the letter was to motivate the clergymen, and eventually white moderates, to stand for civil rights using strategic ethos, pathos, and logos.
King stood up for those oppressed during and before the civil rights movement; yet he knew that responding to violence with violence would do nothing but delay the agenda and create pain for the two opposing parties. In order to avoid any cruelty, King described a day in the life of a black man, showing the emotions of a people who had never been empathized with before. In the letter, King states “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and god given rights” (King). The key phrase here