Civil Disobedience, By David Thoreau And A Letter From...

In Civil Disobedience By David Thoreau, and A Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King have similar ideas of civil disobedience, but their actions of disobedience are different. Thoreau s idea is specifically for every citizen in the US who s obligated from their conscious morality to withdraw their support from a government whose legal policies are immoral or unjust. In contrast King urges victims and individuals to dis honor laws that are unjust and made to divide and keep a hold of black communities from having equal resources and treatment as white people. Both authors are trying to encourage the citizens to address and halt a sovereign majority creating unnatural laws that divides everyone into minority subjects. Kings main argument for disobedience in more compelling because its brings a whole entire group of people into the picture than one individual. Unjust laws and just laws are not defined with federal laws and regulations that many people have in mind. A just law is a universal and natural law that is unchanging and is rooted to bring up the right actions of man kind. An example of a universal law would be the ten commandments, that was given to Moses by God for humanity to be righteous and maintain every human moral. An unjust law is not rooted in eternal or natural law, and is out of harmony which divides and separates individuals from unity. An example of an unjust law would be slavery in America in the late 1800s, which destroyed andShow MoreRelatedCivil Disobedience, by Henry David Thoreau and Letter From Birmingham Jail, by Martin Luther King Jr.909 Words   |  4 Pages The essays, Civil Disobedience, by Henry David Thoreau, and Letter from a Birmingham Jail, by Martin Luther King, Jr., incorporate the authors’ opinions of justice. Each author efficiently shows their main point; Thoreau deals with justice as it relates to government, he asks for,†not at one no government, but at once a better government.†(Paragraph 3). King believed,† injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. (Paragraph 4). Each essay shows a valid argument for justice, but KingsRead MoreComparative Essay on Henry David Thoreau in Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King in Letter from Birmingham Jail820 Words   |  4 PagesHenry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, in Civil Disobedience and Letter from Birmingham Jail, respectively, both conjure a definitive argument on the rights of insubordination during specified epochs of societal injustice. Thoreau, in his enduring contemplation of life and its purpose, insightfully analyzes the conflic ting relationship between the government and the people it governs. He considerately evokes the notion that the majority of people are restrained by the government and societyRead More Comparing Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail 729 Words   |  3 Pagesquot; Thomas JeffersonThoreau, a transcendentalist from the mid 19th century and Martin Luther King Jr., the Civil Rights movement leader of a century later both believed the necessity of medicine for government. Although they showed disagreement of opinion on issues regarding voting, both writers agreed on the necessity to reform the government and the means of accomplishing it. In Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail and Thoreaus Civil Disobedience, both agreed on injustice of majority to rule overRead More Henry Thoreau’s Influence on Martin Luther King Jr. Essay898 Words   |  4 PagesHenry Thoreau’s Influence on Martin Luther King Jr. Henry David Thoreau was a great American writer, philosopher, and naturalist of the 1800’s who’s writings have influenced many famous leaders in the 20th century, as well as in his own lifetime. Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts in 1817, where he was later educated at Harvard University. Thoreau was a transcendentalist writer, which means that he believed that intuition and the individual conscience â€Å"transcend† experienceRead MoreCompare And Contrast Martin Luther King And Thoreau Civil Disobedience1497 Words   |  6 PagesWhen It’s OK to Disobey Martin Luther King Jr.’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† and Henry David Thoreau’s â€Å"Civil Disobedience† collectively persuade their audiences to disobey authority when it concerns social injustice. King takes a more assertive yet respectful approach, and makes it a point to explicate the intolerable treatment that the black community had to endure under the encroachment of segregation laws. In addition, Thoreau expounds why it is so important for citizens to object and takeRead MoreDevelopment of Transcendentalism901 Words   |  4 Pageswhile philosophies of civil dispute and nonviolence may seem like a well-accepted idea today, many who fought for this type of negotiation were often considered radical for their introduction of it to society. Among those transcendentalists was Henry David Thoreau, who wrote â€Å"Civil Disobedience†, Mohandas Gandhi, who wrote â€Å"Satyagraha†, and Martin Luther King Jr., who wrote â€Å"Letters f rom Birmingham Jail†. Henry David Thoreau used the theory of transcendentalism in â€Å"Civil Disobedience.† These three transcendentalistsRead MoreCivil Disobedience and Birmingham Campaign993 Words   |  4 PagesCivil Disobedience and Birmingham Campaign Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther king Jr. fundamentally altered the American tradition of protest and reform. Both of them shared the same idea, but viewed them differently. Dr. King wanted to ultimately raise awareness and open doors for groups while Thoreau wanted more individual rights for people. The Birmingham campaign was a movement organized by King Martin Luther in the spring of 1963 to bring attention to the integration efforts of AfricanRead MoreAnalysis Of Henry David Thoreau s Letter From Birmingham Jail951 Words   |  4 Pagesconfrontations and have practiced freedom of speech rights for justice. In the two articles, â€Å"Civil Disobedience† by Henry David Thoreau, and â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† by Martin Luther King, Jr.; both speakers focused on challenging social and political complications for the better of the future, country, and the government. â€Å"Civil Disobedience† by Thoreau, Henry David follows the author detaching himself from the government due to it favoring the majority based on the powers the certain group possessesRead MoreComparisons On The Advocacies Of Henry Thoreau vs Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.941 Words   |  4 PagesThere is a higher law than civil law- the law of conscience- and that when these laws are in conflict, it is a citizens duty to obey the voice of God within rather than that of the civil authority without, (Harding 207). As Harding described in his brief explanation of Henry David Thoreaus Civil Disobedience, there are some instances in which it is necessary to disobey a social law. Martin Luther King, Jr., in addition to Thoreau, reasoned that should a civil law be judged unjust, one had a moralRead MoreLetter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis961 Words   |  4 Pages1. In his letter from Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King Jr., a civil right activist a Baptist Minister and the creator of â€Å"In Letter from Birmingham jail.† King uses concepts of logos, pathos, and ethos to convey his points. Racial tension was high during Martin Luther King’s time, and he was the voice of the black community. He articulated his words carefully and had use methods of civil disobedience to convey his point. One of the first appeals he makes in his letter is from a lo gos perspective