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Argument Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Argument Analysis Essay In Birmingham, Alabama April of 1963, there was an outbreak of protests against segregation by African Americans. This protest were quickly answered by others who were against the concept of desegregation, thus causing a riot in the city. At this moment in time, the south was still segregated and Jim Crow laws were being enforced. A letter by eight white clergymen of various religious denominations, was written to address the situation at hand. Their intended audience being the community at large, but mainly Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was currently in a Birmingham jail for preaching nonviolence and equal rights. King, a Baptist minister from Atlanta, then formed a rebuttal letter stating his thoughts on the subject …show more content…

They make a claim of value, stating that they support equal rights and a peaceful resolution. The clergymen just want to avoid any act of violence that will disrupt that peace. Laws are already in place that will address their concern, and they believe that equal rights should be decided by the courts and not the people. Thus making a claim of policy. This letter was intended to make a claim of fact to the readers that King was an outside agitator disturbing their progression, and was only going to make matters worse. Kings rebuttal to the white clergy men was stated in, "A Letter From Birmingham Jail."In his response, King wants his audience to believe that justice cannot wait. In his phrase, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere", King declares that he feels connected to and responsible for everyone who is experiencing this unfairness. He believes that speaking out against these wrong doings is the right thing to do. Which is why King makes his claim of fact that he is not an outsider, but is here merely by invitation. An invitation to stand up against his "oppressors" and fight for

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“Injustice everywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Birmingham used to be the most segregated city, and was home to two famous letters explaining the racial problems occuring during the civil rights movement. The exigence of the White Clergymen’s letter is "An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense'' (Pg 174) in dealing with the racial problems in Birmingham Alabama. They express understanding that honest convictions with racial matters could be properly pursued in court, and the decisions of the courts should be peacefully obeyed.

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Dr. King wrote the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in response to a letter written by the Eight Alabama Clergymen who were protesting the progress of desegregation in Birmingham through peaceful acts by the Negro community. King responds to the eight clergymen in a respectful but yet stern and intelligent way. The clergymen expressed that they felt the Negro community 's actions were untimely, unwise, and disrespectful. The clergymen felt that these ethnic issues should be addressed in a court room and not on the corner. Although they understood where King was coming from, they felt like these actions would result in violence.

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Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”: Just and Unjust Laws Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a letter to eight white clergymen while he’s sitting in a jail cell, the result of a protest in Birmingham, Alabama that King, a Georgian, traveled to attend. Due to the criticisms of the clergymen, he commences his letter by explaining why he needed to come to Birmingham. King states that he was there for a multitude of reasons, the first being that he had organizational ties to Birmingham, the second being that he was there because there was injustice in Birmingham. He states that as a citizen of America, injustice in Birmingham is not removed from justice anywhere else because everything is interrelated, and that injustice

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In A letter from Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King Jr writes to the clergy men and his supporters as “A Call for Unity”. King had been put under arrest from partaking in a peaceful march against segregation on property that he did not have permission to be marching on. In the 1960’s segregation laws and policies were under the Jim Crow regulations; separate racial schools, colored-only bathrooms, separate places for the colored to eat and they would have to sit in the back of the bus. The letter King wrote was critical because he reaches out to the Clergymen from Birmingham Prison and uses the rhetorical appeal of his own character to establish his credibility on the subject of racial discrimination and injustice.

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King uses biblical allusions to appeal to the eight white clergymen and their religious affiliation when he states his duty to carry the “gospel of freedom beyond his home town... Like Paul.” His final point of this section is the clergymen’s failure to recognize the underlying causes of the demonstrations they so harshly condemn, a failure causing further ignorance and confusion on racial

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King believed that if he could just go to Birmingham, and protest non-violently, that he could make a difference. On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned, in Birmingham, for protesting the civil rights of Black Americans. While in jail, he began writing a letter addressing the clergymen. His main audience in writing this letter was to the eight clergymen who criticized his actions and also the majority of the population as well. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, argues that injustice

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Civil rights leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a world renown correspondence, Letter From Birmingham Jail, in April of 1963, during a time when segregation was at it’s peak in the South. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. In response to King’s peaceful protesting, the white community viewed “[his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist,” and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). King specifically wrote to the white clergymen who had earlier addressed a letter to him as to why he was apprehended, in which they argued that his actions were untimely and unconstitutional. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive.

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King starts this by adding to his letter by challenging the claim that their actions “must be condemned because they precipitate violence” (5).King displays that the statement blames the demonstrators, which he condemns illogical due to lack of valid support. He then productively demonstrates juxtaposition and compares this claim to “condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery”, or “condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock”, or even “condemning Jesus because his unique God consciousness and never ceasing devotion to God’s will precipitated the evil act of crucification” (6). Providing these concrete ideas, King leaves his listeners no room for questioning his validity with his statements. He leaves the clergymen with a solid idea of what his mission for Civil Right is. By challenging the statement and proving otherwise, King adequately justifies his claim to the clergymen that he is not responsible for precipitating any

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King is respectful toward the government due to his professional background, unlike Thoreau who is frustrated and extremely critical toward the government. Since King is a highly educated minister he chooses to address his concern toward segregation in a sophisticated matter. King directly addresses his letter to the clergymen due to his concerns, on the other hand Thoreau addresses all U.S citizens who want social justice. Even though King also wants justice he still defends his organization which is the Southern Christian leadership Conference. King is serene and stays true to his position by being respectful toward the issue of the social injustice he is living.

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Jennifer Perez Philosophy 380 October 16, 2017 Letter from Birmingham Jail While in jail Martin Luther King Jr wrote an open letter to 8 fellow clergymen from Alabama. These clergymen wrote in a local newspaper about their opinion on the proper way to solve a problem. In their opinion, the clergymen, suggested that the “Negro” community restrain from doing demonstrations and allow the issue be tackled in the courts. In King’s letter, he explained why he disagreed.

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“I have a dream today!” That dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s was to bring about racial equality. That dream of his was the reason that he was imprisoned in Birmingham, and a reason why he wrote his letter. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King argues that Christians need to stand together against racial discrimination. He uses authoritative quotes, logical examples, and emotional language to make his point.

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In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. was sent to jail because of a peaceful protest, protesting treatments of blacks in Birmingham. Before the protest a court ordered that protests couldn’t be held in Birmingham. While being held in Birmingham, King wrote what came to be known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Not even King himself could predict how much of an impact this letter would have on the Civil Rights Movement. In the letter kind defended Kings beliefs on Nonviolent Protests, King also counters the accusations of him breaking laws by categorizing segregation laws into just and unjust laws. King uses this principle to help persuade others to join him in his acts of civil disobedience.

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In terms of legacies, Martin Luther King Jr. is an example of someone whose legacy has left an impact on a great many fields. The first to come to mind for most would be civil rights activism, as he was an instrumental figure in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. However, Martin Luther King Jr is an extremely influential figure in the field of oration and rhetoric. His Letter from Birmingham Jail is a work that he wrote while incarcerated in the Birmingham City Jail in response to criticism from Alabama clergymen. This letter is a prime example of King’s expertise in constructing persuasive rhetoric that appealed to the masses at large.

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Injustices in Birmingham While sitting in the Birmingham jail in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., writes a powerful and emotional letter to the clergymen of Birmingham. In his letter, he responds to the harsh criticism and injustices he received for simply protesting peacefully without a permit. King states in his letter, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

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The writer’s meticulous use of selection of detail, diction and deductive reasoning allows the reader to further understand the events that occurred along with the effects it had on the community as a whole. Those who disagreed with his actions were disproved through these rhetorical devices, allowing them to comprehend his reasoning for his behavior in Birmingham. Overall Martin Luther King’s letter from the Birmingham jail is

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