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Resistance To Civil Disobedience: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Civil disobedience has been used by some of history’s greatest leaders to change what many others saw as impossible, and what would have been unlikely with the use of force. An early example of civil disobedience was Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau, a transcendentalist, spent two years of his life on the shores of Walden Pond, starting in July of 1845. Halfway through his time at Walden Pond, he spent a night in a local jail for his refusal to pay taxes that funded the Mexican-American War and went towards slavery. After being released, he continued his time at Walden Pond until September of 1857. Two years later, in 1849, he revised a lecture of his into an essay, and had it published. “Resistance to Civil Government,” also known as “Civil Disobedience,” chronicles Thoreau’s motivations behind his refusal to pay taxes. In 1854, Thoreau published a book called “Walden,” which further explained his cause, and proved civil disobedience could work if one was dedicated. …show more content…

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who ultimately became the face of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, took Thorea’s ideas and transformed them into action. With the backing of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King and his followers peacefully disobeyed legislation that unjustly targeted blacks and other people of color all across the Deep South. From Selma to Birmingham, King’s message was heard throughout the nation. Even with his death in 1968, King’s wish was almost completely recognized. Jim Crow laws were lifted, segregation was banned, and executive power was used to guarantee First Amendment

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The essay “Civil Disobedience” is about the individuals facing the society they live in, as well as the fight against injustice. Thoreau says in his essay, “I think we should be men first, and subjects afterwards” (392). Thoreau says that they should act as citizens of a community before they act as subjects of the government as well as society. Thoreau also states that, “The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to so at any time what I think is right” (392). This means that at any point in time, as long as the individual does what he believes is right, society’s (as well as government, in this case) standards do not apply.

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(389) Immediately, any American citizen is directly touched by this statement, and it gives a sense of truth and realization. Thoreau is aiming to challenge the status quo; the understanding that the government is responsible for any success of the country. For several people, he actually seemed to draw a sense of anger and resentment toward the government, which was exactly his goal. Emotional appeal is a major factor in making Civil Disobedience a timeless literary

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Published in 1849, a time filled with slavery and prejudice laws, Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience” was initially written as a speech to help express the importance of individuality amongst those under the government’s rule. Throughout his essay, Thoreau uses rhetorical techniques such as analogies for example, comparing men who serve the government to machines, to articulate his distrust towards the government, while emphasizing the active role that each citizen must play in it through standing up for their beliefs. He found it important to persuade civilians to oppose unjust government because many of the people around him were blindly following the government, without even considering their own moral conscience. Thoreau opens

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Henry David Thoreau in “Civil Disobedience” and Martin Luther King, Jr. in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” agree that civil disobedience is necessary if unjust laws are in place. Thoreau and King both write at one point from a jail cell, and both essays are written during a time when they felt there was injustice in the government. Both men realize that there is social injustice taking place in their eras and wanted change to happen.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. and Henry David Thoreau both argue for the right to refuse to obey certain laws for the purpose of influencing government policy. They fight for this right to disobey laws if there is social injustice in their society. Both King and Thoreau have the same ideas on civil disobedience, but they execute them differently. Thoreau laid the groundwork for future readers for the concept of civil disobedience and tells his audience to take action and to rise up against the corrupt laws that are being made. King took this concept and used it to transform the laws that were against African Americans, which were insufferable, and to show that civil disobedience should be used to free them from the intolerable acts happening around them.

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Thoreau, on the other hand, used “Civil Disobedience” to encourage people to stand up to the government. Thoreau encourages people that they should stand up for what they believe in, even if it goes against the majority. “Why does it not encourage its citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults, and do better than it would have them?” (Thoreau). Thoreau is not anti-government, instead he wants the U.S. citizen’s thoughts and opinions, to be heard by the government, and wants the government to change and adapt based on their citizens, not the other way

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Thoreau was strongly against any violent act of protest, but should a person disagree with his/her government, Thoreau would encourage that person to do so in a peaceful manner. Civil disobedience serves the purpose of giving the people a say. For example, Thoreau stated, “Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward attaining it“ (Civil

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What Thoreau means by the Civil Disobedience is that every person should be govern more by his own moral compass that gives him much clearer answer to his deeds, rather than some laws of a government. “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think we should be men first, and subjects afterward.” (1)

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