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Comparing Thoreau And Martin Luther King Jr.

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No matter how much the nation progresses, there will always be times where civil disobedience is desirable. When there is good, there will be evil; and we must recognize when to act against it. The idea of civil disobedience is still applied today through the influence of Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr., as society will be constantly going against government ideals. Thoreau’s position on civil disobedience is that he believes breaking laws is necessary towards a government with unjust laws. He believes in having a better government that does not control and abuse the people; being “at best but an expedient” (Thoreau 240). Additionally, Thoreau believes that one should break the law “if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another”, meaning that if the government uses you as a tool to bring inequality towards others and yourself, that is when a law should be broken (Thoreau 946). Furthermore, he states that, “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison”, this states that if the government …show more content…

He believes that, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, and this belief led him to travel to Birmingham to go against the unfair laws of the government (King 87). Thus, expressing Thoreau’s idea of going against the friction of the government when there is injustice towards others. King also uses nonviolent direct action because it will “create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue” (King 89). This idea that King utilizes relates to Thoreau’s belief that, “it is easier to deal with the real possessor of a thing than with the temporary guardian of it”, as King applies this thought towards his actions of directly bringing the problem to the government to address the issue (Thoreau

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542 Words | 3 Pages

Although their main goals may have been different, they both thought that the United States government needed to be reformed. It can be agreed that the majority always overpowers the minority. King says, “An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself.” Thoreau states something very similar is his essay when he says, “But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice..." Thoreau and King are both trying to convey that the government cannot pass a law just because the majority rules.

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In the society Steinbeck describes, if one were to disobey the rules, he “had no place in any world, no matter where created” (Steinbeck 266). Even though the families had rights, they seemingly did not have the right to protest if they believed a law was unjust. Because of this, the rulers of this society have all of the power. Individuals have to keep their own beliefs private and must adhere to society’s rules, not matter if they were right or wrong, in fear of being shamed. Comparatively, the very foundation of Thoreau’s beliefs is that humans have the right to rebel against a corrupt state.

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268 Words | 2 Pages

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 Civil Disobediance, Thoreau writes how those who break unjust laws should suffer the consequences as a protest to the laws.

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897 Words | 4 Pages

Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience heavily criticizes the government for being too corrupt and also argues that the people have the right to refuse allegiance to the State. Because the government is unjust and corrupt, Thoreau calls for a change in how the government operates rather than abolishing the government entirely. Thoreau’s idea of a better government is a government that governs the least. This claim is elaborated as Thoreau states in his essay that the individuals with consciences should rule instead of the government officials that lack said consciences. For example, in part 1 paragraph 4, he mocks individuals such as soldiers and privates for showing respect to the government through marching admirably because they are going

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414 Words | 2 Pages

The government priority is to protect its people and provide them with the rights that they deserve. Almost quite often, people disagree with some laws and these laws become unjust laws within their beliefs. Many individuals believe that the government should not interfere in their economic and political affairs. Both Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr argued for the right to free the unjust laws that the government held against its government. The two inspiration people within America's history got their rights that they thought they deserved by going outside their bubble and forcing it.

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173 Words | 1 Pages

As most of these obstacles were unjust he knew he had to fight back. “King, like Thoreau, was willing to suffer for his views, especially when he found himself with punitive laws denying civil rights to all citizens. (King211)” Now, in the year 2016, King is an icon. To the public he is a hero, a man who stood up for what he believed

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Civil Disobedience In the dictionary civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest, but Thoreau and Martin Luther King have their own beliefs to civil disobedience. In Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” he writes about the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws. Martin Luther King uses civil disobedience as something that effectuates change in the government. Both Thoreau and Martin Luther King has similar yet different perspectives on civil disobedience.

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Henry Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. both opposed slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister, known for his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement using nonviolence. Henry Thoreau a leading transcendentalist that lived along in a house that he built himself on the shore of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Martin Luther King Jr. known for his memorable speech at Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

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Are you inspired by Martin Luther King and his impact on the Civil Rights Movement? Martin Luther King, Jr. and Henry David Thoreau were both influential figures of their time who urged their supporters to take action without violence, and commit acts of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of protest. Civil Disobedience, a book written by Thoreau, influenced civil rights leaders like Martin Luther, Jr., and their ideas about nonviolence. Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr. have many similarities and differences.

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897 Words | 4 Pages

He objected the injustices of war and slavery, and practiced civil disobedience in his daily life. In the time of Thoreau writing Civil Disobedience, many people believed revolution against the government had not been necessary since the time of the American Revolution. However, Thoreau believes that resisting an abusive government is especially important at this point in time considering that, "a sixth of the population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law." According to Thoreau, it is the duty of American citizens to promptly revolutionize against slavery and the Mexican-American War, which have both been supported by the corrupted American

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842 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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493 Words | 2 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. once said “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”. Civil disobedience is the moral responsibility of a person opposing the state when laws contradict superior ideas. Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. stand for civil disobedience in their works “From Civil Disobedience” and “A Letter From Birmingham Jail”. Civil disobedience has been proven to be justified throughout history and these works.

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440 Words | 2 Pages

Within Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, he greatly emphasizes the impact of a government that functions off the consent of the people, whilst in the process putting the people's power and authority above the government’s in an effort to create a truly free State, both of which are still seen within modern society where the government derives no power if it does not have the consent of those it governs, as well as granting its citizens the right to vote and partake in governmental decisions. When Thoreau speaks about how “the authority of government… must have the sanction and consent of the governed. It can have no pure right over my person and property but what I concede to it”, he shows that with the rights the people are given as american citizens,

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888 Words | 4 Pages

Henry David Thoreau once stated in his book Civil Disobedience, If a law “is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law” (About Thoreau). He had strong beliefs in standing firm in what you think is right. Civil disobedience is explained as a person or group of people who stand against a law that they believe in unjust (Suber). The group or individual participating in civil disobedience usually peaceful, and do not fight against any repercussions against their acts. Their purpose for doing this is usually to bring attention to the law or laws that they view as unjust.

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658 Words | 3 Pages

This citation shows that Thoreau did not want to follow the laws. Thoreau also believed in living life by following moral law and not law stated in the constitution. Thoreau also believed that the government does best if it does not rule over the people. In the essay Civil Disobedience it says “That government is best which governs least”. This shows what Thoreau felt the government should not do.

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