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Similarities Between Civil Disobedience And Martin Luther King

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Martin Luther King Jr. once said “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”. Civil disobedience is the moral responsibility of a person opposing the state when laws contradict superior ideas. Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. stand for civil disobedience in their works “From Civil Disobedience” and “A Letter From Birmingham Jail”. Civil disobedience has been proven to be justified throughout history and these works. The Declaration of Independence states that every individual has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Therefore, if any person feels as if a law, command, or demand is contesting Thomas Jefferson’s word, it is a civil right to act against it nonviolently. “ In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: 1) collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive; 2) negotiation; 3) self-purification; and 4) direct action (King).” The quote states that there are four steps to civilly protest or campaign without being violent or unjust. …show more content…

Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, and David Thoreau are a few of the many activists that have protested to bring about change. “You may well ask, “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, etc.? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are exactly right in your call for negotiation. Indeed, this is the purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue (King).” Negotiation is always the first option; that is until the state refuses agreement and the people apply direct

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Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Isn't negotiation a better path?” Yes negotiation is a better path, but MLK chooses direct actions for one specific reason. That reason being negotiation doesn't get the attention of the people. Taking action shows the people that you are serious about the issue. MLK was big on nonviolence protest to show that he did not want to cause any harm, he just wants to get his points across and better the world for fellow colored people.

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Compare And Contrast Declaration Of Independence And Civil Disobedience

759 Words | 4 Pages

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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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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Similarities Between Civil Disobedience And Martin Luther King

704 Words | 3 Pages

People for centuries have gotten their moving inspirational speeches from impactful writers before their time. Even someone as inspirational as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and he got his motivation from Henry David Thoreau who wrote“Civil Disobedience” which was published in 1849. The speech of King’s where “Civil Disobedience” shines through is the famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Both Thoreau’s and King’s pieces were written in a time of racial discrimination and injustice. The similarity in situations and lack of federal government participation gave King the perfect layout for some of the main portions of his speech.

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Thoreau And Martin Luther King Comparison

678 Words | 3 Pages

Civil Disobedience In the dictionary civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest, but Thoreau and Martin Luther King have their own beliefs to civil disobedience. In Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” he writes about the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws. Martin Luther King uses civil disobedience as something that effectuates change in the government. Both Thoreau and Martin Luther King has similar yet different perspectives on civil disobedience.

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Comparing Thoreau And Martin Luther King Jr.

546 Words | 3 Pages

No matter how much the nation progresses, there will always be times where civil disobedience is desirable. When there is good, there will be evil; and we must recognize when to act against it. The idea of civil disobedience is still applied today through the influence of Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr., as society will be constantly going against government ideals. Thoreau’s position on civil disobedience is that he believes breaking laws is necessary towards a government with unjust laws. He believes in having a better government that does not control and abuse the people; being “at best but an expedient” (Thoreau 240).

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Birmingham Jail

1718 Words | 7 Pages

Several negotiations had taken place in order to try and resolve the conflicts without the need for direct action, but sadly the promises made to them were broken and that is when they felt the need to begin protesting. MLK then stresses the importance of protesting, saying that “nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is

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Malcolm X's Speech 'By Any Means Necessary'

1116 Words | 5 Pages

We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.” (King, 1963) pushed for peace in the push for justice and freedom. I responded with a forceful "Who ever heard of angry revolutionists all harmonizing ‘We Shall Overcome’ … while tripping and swaying along arm-in-arm with the very people they were supposed to be angrily revolting against?” (Malcolm X, 1963) The government in this country was said to protect rights and they failed, we can not peacefully forget the wrongs committed against us, we must push the social and political justice promised many times over, but never

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Letter From Birmingham Jail, By Martin Luther King Jr.

794 Words | 4 Pages

“One who breaks an unjust law must do so…with a willingness to accept the penalty…to arouse the conscience of the community… [and] is in reality expressing the highest respect for law” (Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963). Civil disobedience is a technique commonly used by many to show their opposition towards a law or a stance. In the legal aspect, the resister disobeys the law they oppose but does not retaliate when faced with consequences. Instead, they understand that it was a result of their actions.

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Civil Disobedience In Henry David Thoreau's March On Washington

923 Words | 4 Pages

In the eyes of Henry David Thoreau, civil disobedience is the concept of people standing up for what they believe is corruption—even if the rest of society disagrees—through refusal to comply by conducting peaceful protests and boycotting. Throughout history, numerous groups of people have been seen conducting civil disobedience by the precedent of Thoreau’s works to successfully reform dishonorable elements of the law. A specific instance of this is the African Americans who transformed a discriminating society through nonviolent defiance through events such as the March on Washington. The 1963 March on Washington exemplifies the beliefs of Henry Thoreau in his essay, On The Duty of Civil Disobedience, by the planning of a congregation of

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

640 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout centuries, peaceful resistance has been a form of protest against governments that has positively benefited those in rebellion. As seen throughout America over the years, many have toppled social reforms such as equal rights, same sex marriage, and women’s suffrage with the strategy of peaceful confrontation. This form of defiance has allowed people to share their perspective on issues without causing any physical harm. Although many people have suffered and accepted the consequences of these protests, the overall outcome has aided the vast majority of people. Civil disobedience, or peaceful resistance, is a practice that positively impacts a free society because it limits government power, births unity, and allows the general public to preserve their natural rights as human beings.

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Martin Luther King's Use Of Civil Disobedience In The United States

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Well, almost 120 years later, these principles would be resurrected in the form of the Civil Rights movement, in, Martin Luther King Jr. Much like Thoreau, he disobeyed state law ((an injunction against public demonstrations)) and led a peaceful march through the streets of Birmingham until he was detained and arrested. While in jail, he had worked on his own letter, and published it after he was released as “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” which analyzes the process of civil disobedience, and more. When he begins to analyze civil disobedience, he starts off with a very important point, the beginning stage of disobedience is to determine whether there is even injustice in the government.

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Why Nonviolence Is More Effective

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It rightfully asserts that nonviolent protests are more effective at achieving the ends of protesters. This essay will expand on why nonviolence is more effective. Firstly, nonviolent protesters are more effective as more people participate. Research has shown that all protests that achieved the active and sustained participation of just 3.5% of

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1660 Words | 7 Pages

Civil disobedience is the deliberate action against an unjust law to invoke a positive change in government and society. Civilians have the right to refute these types of unjust laws to eliminate inequality and government’s unjust nature by following conscience before laws for moral guidance. As demonstrated in Antigone, this is depicted by the daughter of Oedipus, who disobeys Creon’s law for the greater good because of the laws unjust nature. In Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau, a naturalist, promotes this concept as well through his philosophical standpoint of the flaws of the government. Lastly, in Dr. King’s letter he qualifies the idea of civilians disobeying their government through non violent campaigns to stand up against

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Civil Disobedience Essay

890 Words | 4 Pages

Civil disobedience is a form of nonviolent protest that involves breaking the law to challenge unjust policies or practices. The term civil disobedience was theorised only in the 19th century by Henry Thoreau, although such forms of rebellion have existed for as long as injustices, and, until there are, I strongly believe that civil disobedience should be implemented to demand change and justice. Whenever certain rights are threatened, I think everyone has to rise up to protect them, because, as T. Jefferson stated: “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty”. Civil disobedience is one of the ways citizens can organise their resistance and, throughout history, it has proven itself successful many times; however, not everyone agrees

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