Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From The Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King was one of the greatest leaders that fought for the rights of African Americans across the country. MLK was an amazing speaker and writer. He wrote a speech called the “I Have A Dream” speech. He presented this to the African Americans across the country pushing them to help with the fight against segregation. Also, King was arrested for protesting racial segregation. Some clergymen called his behavior “unwise” and “untimely” so he took his time to create a letter explaining his choice of actions. King used Logical appeal (logos) and Emotional appeal (pathos) to capture the attention of his audience, along with making his main points clear. Although King uses both logos and pathos, pathos have more of an effect on his listeners.

In his “I Have A Dream” speech King introduces the idea that comes from The Declaration of Independence. “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the constitution and the...This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white me, would be granted the ‘unalienable Rights’ of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’”(King, 261-262)This supports Kings reasoning behind why all men should be treated equal. In King's “Letter From the Birmingham Jail” he explains the difference between just and unjust laws. In addition to this, he talks about why people break one type of law but not the other. “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law...an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust” (King, 276). King uses these logos to support his main points, but they do not exactly catch his audience's