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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: An Analysis

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During the nineteenth century, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has shown us the genuine significance of the word freedom, leaving an indelible mark on America. During the Civil Rights Movement, King preached that nonviolence and civil disobedience are the only way to fight for freedom, effectively driving Blacks in their journey for the "unalienable rights" guaranteed by our Founding Fathers. “We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline,” he urged. Freedom, he believed, is the ability for all mankind to think, speak, and act in the public sphere. Education is the key to thinking, speaking, and acting in a coherent and persuasive manner. Like the biblical parable in which Jesus preaches the benefit of teaching …show more content…

According to King’s argument, safeguarding freedom requires that we live up to the promises made in the Declaration of Independence. Segregation is not consistent with freedom because segregation is a barrier to education and thus to man’s pursuit of “liberty” and “happiness.” Freedom is brotherhood, peace, and racial harmony. Freedom is being judged not “by the color of [one’s] skin but by the content of [one’s] character”. To King, freedom is equality. In his landmark “I Have a Dream” speech, King draws on the Declaration of Independence “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Before considering the Civil Rights Movement, it is imperative to understand that public freedom is predicated on the belief that all men (meaning all humans, females alike) are equal before the law. Disapproving of the hierarchy and inequity of the British system, the writers of the Declaration of Independence believed that pedigree and personal assets were unfair measures of one’s worth. More than just a declaration of independence from an oppressive government, this idea was the declaration of a new faith in reason. Much like René Descartes in his Discourse on Method (1637), the drafters questioned the conventional norm of their day and strove to establish an enlightened nation. In fact, America is oftentimes seen as a child of enlightenment because it so adamantly set itself apart from the European system of governance. Rather than cling to the structure and stagnancy of their predecessors, the Founding Fathers looked to progress and sought enlightenment. It is from this spring of reason that Martin Luther King, Jr. drank and developed his ideas on freedom and equality. Public freedom finds its only guarantee in the idea that all men are created equal; although the Founding Fathers did not actively work to abolish slavery or enfranchise

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The Emancipation Proclamation signed by the same great American serves as a fundament for the freedom of all colored citizens of the United States. That is why Mr. King intentionally refers to the significance of this document. He also references the Declaration of Independence to evoke authority into his speech. King also quotes the “unalienable rights” for “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. He is stating that the American government has neglected

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On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King, a Civil Rights Activist and Church Minister, in his letter entitled Letter from Birmingham City Jail, demands equal rights for all people. He supports this claim by first asserting our American Heritage of freedom and our God-given right. Then, claiming the need for protest, which is better than protecting an unjust system, and finally declaring that it is everyday people who lead the protests and bring our nation to freedom for all. Through King’s use of tone, rhetorical appeals, and rhetorical tools he effectively persuades the church and America to end racial segregation and be united as brothers. Martin Luther King informative and optimistic tone calls to action the church and people of America

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Amity Lodevico ENG 1A Professor Clark 10 September, 2016 A strong country can only prevail when individuals have attained the ideals of justice and equality. However, throughout American history people have had to fight for their rights due to the injustices caused by the government. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. promotes the importance of justice and equality through responding to a letter from clergymen who wanted him to stop protesting against racial inequality. King’s letter builds upon his influences such as Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Thomas Jefferson’s “The Declaration of Independence,” through expressing discontentment with injustice and proclaiming away to combat it. The texts can also

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The United States of America was not always as free as it claimed to be. For instance, black people were once subject to segregation and discrimination. As the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to respond to his fellow clergymen and their statements that criticized the demonstrations that put him in the jail cell he was writing from. All in all, King’s letter sheds light on the struggles against racial inequality through the persuasive styles of ethos, pathos, and logos. Judging from his letter from Birmingham jail, it is obvious that Martin Luther King Jr. is living in a time of racial inequality and discrimination.

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Deluged with remarkable linguistics, King’s rhetoric wholly epiphanized and unified a country that had been stricken with unrest by war and hate and thus became the epitome of the March on Washington and the summation of the Civil Rights Movement Summarized Speech The speech encapsulates the desire to remain equal among the exalted American people, those of White color. At the outset King utilizes a policy signed 100 years ago as reference to a declaration of freedom that has only been contorted to produce new boundaries on freedom;

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The authors of these texts and speeches believe that all men are created equal and have inalienable rights because those rights are endowed to us by our “Creator.” Patrick Henry supports this belief when he asserts ”If we wish to be free-if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending-if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained-we must fight!” This quote supports Henry’s desire for equality and individual freedoms because he says “and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall

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The Declaration of Independence although claimed “all men are created equal,” within an equal and free society, was not entirely entitled and proposed to all men, differing from the realities of the world. Within the Declaration of Independence, the subject of slavery and women’s rights were not acted upon despite what was worded and promised on paper. This important document interested all people of age, race, gender, etc. and how it would affect them. However, the realties outside the given document were more complex in politics, society, and people’s ideals of what was proposed and to occur.

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Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech had a great deal of logos and pathos appeals to persuade his audience to speak out against segregation and to give all men the rights they deserve. He often gave a clear line of reasoning supported by evidence in his speech, like when he says: “This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”... America has defaulted on this promissory note, ... given the Negro people a bad check… which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” (King para. 4)

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He writes that “one has not only a legal but moral responsibility to obey just laws” as well as “a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” (Letter from Birmingham Jail). King asserts his belief to clergymen in his Letter to Birmingham Jail that he can urge people to obey laws like the Supreme Court’s 1954 decision (to outlaw segregation in public schools) because it is one that is morally right; in like manner, he can also urge people to disobey segregation ordinances because they are ones that are morally wrong. Essentially, he uses this idea as one justification for the civil rights activists’ demonstrations. To this day, King’s ideals in correspondence with the degradation that his people faced are commended by many people whether it be to achieve credibility or to express genuine support for what he represented. Solidarity reminds that even if someone holds power over you, you are not alone in your beliefs or in your supposed

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In 9th century BC, Shammuramat was a Queen of Assyria and the first lady to rule without a man. According to historian Gwendolyn Leick, “This woman achieved remarkable fame and power in her lifetime and beyond.’’. She was powerful enough to have her own obelisk inscribed and it is accepted that she initiated a number of building projects and personally led military campaigns. If we glimpse into Egyptian History, the name Nefertiti (c. 1370 - c. 1336 BCE) comes up first.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.

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213 Words | 1 Pages

Both lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King's “I have a dream” speech are similar in that they both express the concept of freedom to achieve their purpose. However, they each have different ideas about freedom, and about what they want their audience to do. Both influential speeches rely heavily on rhetorical devices to convey their purpose. In King’s speech, the use of sensory and visceral language is abundant, creating an emotional and powerful atmosphere. “Manacles of discrimination,” “Lonely island of poverty” and “Chains of discrimination” paint a bleak picture of life as a minority in America, and contrasts phrases such as “Bright day of justice” and “Sacred obligation” which symbolize freedom.

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In the United States are often mentioned the two fundamental documents – The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States. Martin Luther King is not an exception in this regard. At the beginning of his speech he reminds the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation of slaves in 1863. Even though it was one hundred years since the Emancipation Proclamation, Blacks are still not fully free.

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332 Words | 2 Pages

The Age of the Enlightenment came instead of the dark Middle Ages, and it was the new time of reason and intelligence. The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) invoked "Have the courage to use your own intelligence" and precisely defined the role of the individual of that time in all spheres of life (503). The Enlightenment was the spiritual revolution and almost completely abolition of the medieval system of values. It started from religious life and led to social changes and Revolutions. During the 18th century in Europe, the enormous changes took place in intellectual, economic, political and social spheres; they were interconnected and associated with the Enlightenment.

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Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Great Equalizer The discrimination that took over the United States during the reign of the highest and most influential African American to ever change this great nation was the worst that most people have ever seen. His life was led through segregation from the whites and was very controversial throughout the country at his time. This amazing man, Martin Luther King, Jr, brought about keeping everyone equal, writing influential speeches to bring attention to the segregation, and being an inspiration to young men and women all over the country. King, being the most influential man to come to this country, helped to change many issues.

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