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Similarities Between Civil Disobedience And Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King Jr's, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, both the authors explore their opinions on disobeying government’s rules and standing up for one’s owns rights and going against injustice. Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," is written in the United States during the transcendentalism phase, around the 1837 and 1840's where most of the writers had a liberal viewpoint on topics such as women's rights and criticized the laws of government and industrialization. Most of Thoreau’s works, including “Civil Disobedience”, were inspired by the short amount of time he spent in jail. On the other hand, Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written more than one hundred years later, in …show more content…

It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right." (Jacobus, 306). He argues that it is up to each and every individual to stand up for their own rights and know the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong. As said by Thoreau, by committing acts of civil disobedience or peaceful protests, citizens of the nations are able to have their voice to speak up against the wrongdoings of their own government. They bring attention to the more important issues at hand and allow opinions to be formed, and can thus spark change in society. It allows people to be more intellectual, rational, develop opinions on certain important and controversial topics, make them question about certain laws without just blindly following them, understand society as a whole, and altogether help the nation to progress and achieve greater heights of …show more content…

One most popular one is the Parkland shooting in Florida, issues about gun control, the most recent protests in Armenia where many protesters are forcing their ruling elite to step down from their power, and also many other controversial issues regarding the recent Trump era. Inspired by former historical events such as the Salt March, The Freedom March, etcetera, even in this day and age, people all around the world continue to struggle and fight for cases revolving around equality, liberation, racism, sexism etcetera and revolting against oppressive powers, in order to create a better society for all citizens to live

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Compare And Contrast Letter From Birmingham Jail And Civil Disobedience

424 Words | 2 Pages

"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. And "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau both portray the same idea but were told in but different ways. "Civil Disobedience" was written in the 1830's while "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written about one hundred years later. Both letters illustrated civil disobedience in the same way by two different views. The two differ from each other due to the tone and occasion found.

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Compare And Contrast Thoreau And Martin Luther King

542 Words | 3 Pages

In 1849, Henry David Thoreau’s essay, Resistance to Civil Government was published. In this essay, Thoreau discussed the importance of using civil disobedience in hopes of creating a more civilized government. Around 100 years later, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to some clergymen about why blacks should have the same civil rights just like everyone else called, Letter from Birmingham Jail. King was greatly influenced by Thoreau and many of King’s ideas were acquired from principles used in Thoreau’s essay. Compare and contrast how these two men were similar and different when it came to their beliefs of civil disobedience.

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Letter From Birmingham Jail Pathos

641 Words | 3 Pages

Both Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King both spend time in prison for not abiding by the law and practicing civil disobedience, although they are for very different causes. Henry David Thoreau wrote “Resistance to Civil Government” in 1849, he went to jail for not paying a tax that supported the Mexican-American War to expand American territories. He refused to pay this tax because he did not agree to expand American territories because the expansion would lead to more slavery, which he opposed. While Martin Luther King was arrested in 1863 for protesting the treatment of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. In jail, Dr. King experienced harsh conditions and more segregation than he did in Birmingham as a free man, so he wrote Letter From Birmingham Jail.”

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Compare And Contrast Thoreau And Steinbeck's Ideals For Government

943 Words | 4 Pages

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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Comparing Letter From Birmingham Jail And Speech At The March On Washington

1372 Words | 6 Pages

Do you think it is fair to mistreat or not give the same rights to someone because of the color of their skin? In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the “Speech at the March on Washington” by Josephine Baker each article passionately argues about the disadvantages of the black community during the 1960’s and about equality and the power of education. In order to achieve true freedom one must find a peaceful approach to find a solution. To being with, it is just to break an unjust law by protesting in a peaceful manner to conquer freedom. For example, in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on pages 325-326 in lines 233-242 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. states, “For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading

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Examples Of Civil Disobedience In Letter From Birmingham Jail

1137 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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Comparing Letter From A Birmingham Jail And Resistance To Civil Government

452 Words | 2 Pages

The two essays "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. and "Resistance to Civil Government" by Henry David Thoreau were authored at distant points in history (1963 and 1848, respectively) to very different audiences. Their core purpose and cultural impact, however, are nearly identical. Both writers founded their essays on a strong logical basis. They form an argument to those who are oppressing them, establishing what is morally right and how it differs from what is approved by those in authority. For example, Thoreau had a poignant metaphor about poll taxation: "If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to him though I drown myself".

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Comparing Letters From A Birmingham Jail And Thoreu's Duty Of

578 Words | 3 Pages

The writings of Martin Luther King Jr. Letters from a Birmingham Jail and Henry David Thoreu’s Duty of Civil Disobedience are two extremely influential and classic pieces of literature that express the power of dissent and the struggle against injustice. Both writings serve as a testament to the corruption that is the government and the ways to disobey this corrupt system. Due to their common theme of advocating for civil disobedience, these works are frequently cited and contrasted with one another; yet, the authors’ approaches to expressing their tones and focus points vary. Making each piece of writing unique in its own way. So by comparing and contrasting these two writings, we can distinguish the aspects that make them so similar yet distinct

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Nonviolent Protest In Letter From Birmingham Jail

1355 Words | 6 Pages

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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Letter From Birmingham Jail Comparison

883 Words | 4 Pages

Similar to Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr was an activist who wrote a famous letter titled, “A letter from Birmingham Jail”. The writings have similar aspects when it comes

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Civil Disobedience In Letter From Birmingham Jail

400 Words | 2 Pages

Rachal LFBJ ABCBC In The Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr, the values of civil disobedience is presented through Logos and allusions. In the text it states, “In your statement you asserted that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But can this assertion be logically made?

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Compare And Contrast Martin Luther King And Civil Disobedience

1845 Words | 8 Pages

Civil Disobedience Compare and Contrast Henry Thoreau and Martin Luther King both wrote persuasive discussions that oppose many ideals and make a justification of their cause, being both central to their argument. While the similarity is obvious, the two essays, Civil Disobedience by Thoreau and Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. do have some similarities. King tries persuading white, southern clergymen that segregation is an evil, unfair law that ought to defeat by use of agitation of direct protesting. Thoreau, on the other hand, writes to a broader, non-addressed audience, and focuses more on the state itself. He further accepts it at its current state, in regard to the battle with Mexico and the institution of slavery.

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Thoreau And Martin Luther King Comparison

678 Words | 3 Pages

Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," is written in the United States during transcendentalism era which was around 1837 to the 1840's. But Martin Luther’s “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” was written over 100 years after “Civil Disobedience. They both focus on a different audience, Martin Luther wrote to the eight clergyman while Thoreau focuses

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Compare And Contrast Letter From Birmingham Jail And Civil Disobedience

895 Words | 4 Pages

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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Civil Disobedience In Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail

631 Words | 3 Pages

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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