Similarities Between Civil Disobedience And Letter From Birmingham Jail

As society faced great inequities in the 19th and 20th centuries, activists and philosophers sought to inform the general public. At the turn of the 19th century, Thoreau presented his writing of a "Civil Disobedience" as an argument of the injustices of the tyrannical government after spending a night in jail. Likewise, Martin Luther King Jr. presented his argument to society as he was jailed in 1963. In his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," King perceives the injustice of the African American community as a primary goal as to the need for the advocation of the whole population. Whereas in Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," it addresses the injustices in broader terms and stresses the despotic government. Both King and Thoreau address these arguments in similar and divergent fashions through the use of purpose, and persuasive writing styles.

Words are the most compelling drugs used by humanity. In “Resistance to Civil Government” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Thoreau and King showed that if words are used properly in society, they can make a difference. Injustice is a huge deal for both Thoreau and King. They talked about their beliefs and told people to stand up for themselves in the government. If they really want something, they need to speak up, no matter what the consequence will be. Thoreau and King’s beliefs are similar as they both believe men are inherently moral, but have been ruined by society, and a natural state is necessary; and they respected the law and saw the good and bad in the government.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a very empowering speech in August 28, 1963 and an informative letter in the margins of a newspaper on April 16, 1963. Dr. King took his time to speak out for every African Americans rights, that made him known as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. The speech that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr wrote “I have a Dream” gives a pathos feel, building ups emotions towards real equality for each and every person, and not just separate, but equal living conditions. It also gives a logos appeal. The speech also called for Civil and Economic Rights. The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that Dr. King wrote was to create a logos appeal and pathos appeal as well. It defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance as he writes his letter to his fellow clergymen.

In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. writes about the issue of waiting for justice and God given rights for African Americans, the need for a good faith negotiation quickly, and using the strategy of a non-violent campaign and protest to achieve it all. His initial reasoning for writing these letters was to answer the sincere criticism he had received from a fellow clergymen in hopes to bring about a negotiation of peace. Dr. King hoped to shed light on the reasoning be hide the protesting and explain why the protesting needed to take place and at such an “untimely” time. He also yearned to shed light on the racism that had engulfed the nation and the ugly record of brutality that African Americans had suffered in the past and at that moment currently. His letters brought to light the injustice of the past and persuaded the clergymen to finally grant African Americans the Constitutional rights and the respect they deserved.

In my opinion Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. have very similar purposes in their writings. Both author 's are writing to protest unfair laws. But they also have very different audiences.

In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s essay, “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” and Henry David Thoreau essay “Civil Disobedience,” both share their opinions on social injustice and civil disobedience. They both believe that people can protest unfair and unjust laws imposed on them in a civil way. In addition, King and Thoreau are challenging the government with their essays, which they wrote after they got sent to jail. For protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama, King spent eleven days in jail; Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay his poll tax. Both King and Thoreau’s essays present similar plans for a resolution. They try to convince their audience that they are doing the right thing by using the three appeals; however, they both approach their arguments differently.

Martin Luther King Jr once stated, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” in his Letter from Birmingham Jail in 1963. He was invoking the principle of civil disobedience. He wasn't justifying breaking laws just because, but instead, meant that you break the law and accept your punishment, in hopes that people will come to see that the law is unethical. Civil disobedience plays an important role in how our society has been shaped up until this point. It is out of the selfless act of heroes and heroines of civil disobedience such as Mahatma Gandhi that the society is enjoying the fruits today. This speech is going to demonstrate how civil disobedience has played roles in social reforms, containing unjust rulings

Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”, published in 1849, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, published in 1963, have profound similarities while still having underlying differences.

People could portray anything in different ways. Thoreau and King both have differences in portraying civil disobedience. In Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience” he begins writing about how the government rarely shows how powerful it is and instead acquires power from the people. King used civil disobedience as a means of effectuating government change and used his courage to protest against discrimination through the act of civil disobedience. Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," is written in the United States during transcendentalism era which was around 1837 to the 1840's. But Martin Luther’s “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” was written over 100 years after “Civil Disobedience. They both focus on a different audience, Martin Luther wrote to the eight clergyman while Thoreau focuses

Henry Thoreau and Martin Luther King both wrote persuasive discussions that oppose many ideals and make a justification of their cause, being both central to their argument. While the similarity is obvious, the two essays, Civil Disobedience by Thoreau and Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. do have some similarities. King tries persuading white, southern clergymen that segregation is an evil, unfair law that ought to defeat by use of agitation of direct protesting. Thoreau, on the other hand, writes to a broader, non-addressed audience, and focuses more on the state itself. He further accepts it at its current state, in regard to the battle with Mexico and the institution of slavery. Thus that a person ought to do as he does and not agree to pay taxes to the state that is in support of such evil customs or practices. While both King and Thoreau triumph in their establishment of a firm perception of what they strongly have faith in, they both are successful in their efforts to persuade through different means. Regarding the manner in which King draws emotional appeal through passionate speech, we also see with Thoreau when he makes apparent that he is devoted in what he stands for. Thus attracting more appeal through being more troubled and concerned instead of being innocently optimistic and hopeful. Nevertheless, similarities weigh against differences as both King and Thoreau give reliability to the moral

Dr. Martin Luther King and Frederick Roosevelt are both strong powered speakers of equal rights. These two amazing people have talked and fought for equal rights of every human being. With that, they’ve both have similarities in their amazing speeches letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King and four freedoms speech by Roosevelt. In 1963, MLK wrote a remarkable letter to the clergyman following his arrest In Birmingham. Whereas in 1941, Roosevelt published a speech to Congress on the state of the union. These two remarkable pieces of writing share common themes of rights and Freedom such as injustice, tone, and allusion in America.

1963 could be considered the peak of the civil rights movement- with protests in Birmingham, the March on Washington, and the surfacing of Martin Luther King Jr.'s ground-breaking pieces "I Have A Dream" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail," the demand for civil rights had become a genuine American crisis. Dr. King wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail" while he was in custody with the intention to share with fellow Americans his grievances and explain the absolute necessity for protests in Birmingham. Almost a century prior, in 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered his biting and passionate speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" on behalf of all the enslaved. Somewhat similar to Dr. King's letter, Douglass shares his own grievances regarding

Civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, in his Letter from Birmingham City Jail, argues against criticism from eight Alabama clergymen, and addresses their concerns. He defends his position, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), against accusations of disturbing the peace in Birmingham, as well as explaining his values and opinions. Throughout the letter, King adopts a strong logical and credible tone, and reinforces his position through the use of strong emotional justifications, in order to appeal to the clergymen and defend his public image.

Racism in America was and still is an issue that is faced. Since the time of the Civil Rights movement America has improved but still has to do some work. The people who started the fight for racial equality were the brave ones who decided enough was enough. Colored people in America had been treated unfairly for much too long and were ready to fight for their rights and get rid of the social injustices they had to face. One of the biggest injustices towards blacks were the unjust segregation laws in the country. The nation was divided based on skin color and nothing else. Colored people were oppressed and treated with no respect every day in this country. White people of the time made it become