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Examples Of Civil Disobedience In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In his letter from Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King mentioned the three pious Jewish youths, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, as an example of the civil disobedience for the in-just laws of Nebuchadnezzar. King states “there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake”. King believes that human history is full of numerous examples of breaking un-just laws as in case of the three young men’s story. They had been thrown in the blazed furnace because they did not obey the king’s order, and they didn’t worship the golden statue made by Nebuchadnezzar. King selected this …show more content…

Nebuchadnezzar asked all the officials to bow before the golden statue. Anyone refused to worship the statue, would be thrown in the blazing fired furnace. According to the Jew’s religions, Jews must worship God only as it was said in the book of Exodus “You shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything … you shall not bow down to them” Exodus 20:3-5. This means that the Jews aren’t allowed to worship any statue, image, picture on the earth or below it. They must worship their God only. Therefore, the three men didn’t obey the un-just law of Nebuchadnezzar. The city officials who were jealous of the three men informed the king that the three young men refused to bow before the statue. Nebuchadnezzar ordered the three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to bow before the statue; they refused and said that their God would deliver them from the furnace and from the king’s hands. The king commended his mighty men to throw the three men in the fire furnace, which was seven times hotter than usual. The three men were walking in the midst of the fired furnace singing and praising their God. A fourth figure like the son of god was walking with them” Daniel 4“. However, the flam killed the mighty men who threw the three young men and didn’t harm the three young men. Nebuchadnezzar believed in the three young men’s God. He made a decree that any nation or people shall speak anything against the three men’s God, he would cut them in pieces. In addition, the king promoted the three men in the provinces of

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This caused Samson’s rage against the Philistines to turn into a boiling hatred as stated by Samson himself when he said, “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them.” (Judges 15:3). This shows Samson coming into the reason God allowed for him to be born which would allow him to exercise his plan to release the Israelites from the Palestine’s. He struck down the men who had gone against his wishes and struck him down. His people brought him back to the Philistine’s in response to his actions due to fear of their retaliations.

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The Negroes were in constant suffering under the racist claws of whites who saw them as their prey. The black community suffered physical violence that made more than just their bodies hurt, violence so painful that made their hearts ache knowing that they were attacked for no other reason than their race. But even those vicious attacks seemed minor compared to the injustice that the blacks suffered. They were guilty of wanting justice so they were sentenced to misery and were tortured. Tortures by those who thought that their color made them unworthy of respect or fair treatment.

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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

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7. After Samson’s hair got cut the Philistines made him go blind and made him, mill to grind corn. 8. The Philistines gathered up and brought Samson to the temple to make fun of him.

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Later in Judges 14 line 19, once again “the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him” when Samson recognizes that the Philistines cheated to solve his riddle of “Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet” (Judges 14 line 14). (The answers of course are a lion and honey, referencing the honey that Samson ate from the lion’s body after he killed it). With the Lord by his side, Samson strikes down 30 Philistines and strips them from belongings. In Judges 15 line 14, again “The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him” after he is tied up by the Judahs to be delivered to the Philistines. Once he sees the Philistines, the Lord gives him the power to tear through his bindings and strike down a thousand men with only the fresh jawbone of a donkey.

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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.

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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.

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The resource that I pick was no more the children of Birmingham 1963 and the turning point of the civil rights movement was the best because it had most of the information. Also had pictures and people saying what happened. The second best resource is 1963 Birmingham civil rights campaign Barbra Sylvia shores it talks about being a Africa American was like in the civil rights movement. If you listen deeper in what she is saying she talks about the police cruelty. The letter from Birmingham jail was the third best source because MLK.jr wrote the letter to white leaders.

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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. Martin Luther King opens up his Letter from Birmingham City Jail by appealing to the clergymen's emotions, and assuring his peaceful response, which he describes in "patient and

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Looking at this letter from King’s time period, one may seem to not understand where King was coming from because the issue was still fresh, but today his letter has lots of

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Martin Luther King once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” (par. 4). In the 1950s and 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr. was a commendable leader in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. After being arrested in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963, King wrote a response to the eight clergymen who questioned his ways. In his “Letter to Birmingham Jail,” King argues that there is injustice in Alabama and defends his protests for racial segregation. King does a successful job in his letter by demonstrating the logic of his position, employing emotional appeals, and establishing his credibility with personal facts.

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King is the prime example of this, King showed multiple times

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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 last one God killed all first born boys in the land excluding the Israelites. This led to the Passover celebrated every year for God passing over and saving their boys. Finally after Pharaoh’s son dying he let the Israelites go. Not for long though after they left he pursued them to the Red Sea. The Israelites were able to cross on dry ground, but as soon as the Egyptians went in they were thrown into chaos and the sea swallowed them up leaving not one Egyptian alive.

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