Martin Luther King Page 14

Civil disobedience was largely popularized by figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1950s Civil Rights Movement. Inherently nonviolent, it aims to fight injustice and ultimately effect societal change. Because it is a widely debated means of action, I will present a framework under which it can be morally justified, drawing on King’s “Letter…

In 1963 Martin Luther King wrote a letter from Birmingham jail which was addressed to all people to speak out about getting equality between blacks and whites. He appeals to his audience through many perspectives such as clergyman, a black man, and a civil rights activist. He gives an in depth position of the urgency…

In 1849, Henry David Thoreau established the idea of “civil disobedience. ” In his paper “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau encourages the reader to recognize when the government is doing something unjust and wrongful to the people. He then declares that the people should non-violently protest these actions of the government by not following the laws that…

In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King was imprisoned for peacefully protesting racial segregation in Birmingham. Religious leaders in Alabama criticized his actions as “unwise and untimely” and labeled him an “outsider.” In response, King wrote a piece called “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” defending his presence and explaining the importance of nonviolent direct action….

Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech includes a variety of elements that make it stand out: “a calm-to-storm delivery that begins in a slow, professorial manner before swinging gradually and rhythmically to a dramatic climax; schemes of parallelism, especially anaphora (e.g., “I have a dream that . . .”); and clusters of light…

In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. employs persuasive rhetoric to address the opposing views. King employs a method similar to the Rogerian Argument, which counters human oppression. He effectively presents the issue, acknowledges the opposing viewpoint, emphasizes his own stance, supports it with evidence, and concludes with a proposal that appeals…

The speech was given on August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, in a time where it was very difficult for blacks everywhere, and they wanted to change the way they were treated. The civil rights movement was becoming more and more popular at this time. Purpose: To motivate people to make a change. “I…