Just and unjust laws may be considered logical evidence as well as emotional, but Martin Luther King Jr. uses a few much better logical examples to convince the audience to see his point of view. His logical examples of moral wrongdoings include strong emotion and cold harsh facts. Birmingham’s history of cruel segregation is well known and possibly the most segregated city in the United States. There were more “unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in…
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The essays by Martin Luther King Jr., “Letters From Birmingham Jail” and Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” show how one can be a civil person and protest against unfair, unjust laws forced upon them. Both authors are very persuasive in their letter writings. Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. write about the injustice of government laws, of right and wrong, and one’s moral and upstanding conscience of a human being. Martin Luther King Jr. is a religious, peaceful man who uses…
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disobedience, unjust law and a just law. Martin Luther King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, Alabama. There he writes "Letter from Birmingham Jail," which advocated nonviolent civil disobedience. One of the greatest letters ever written. After being jailed in Birmingham Ala. Dr. King responds to 8 clergymen and preachers who criticized his civil disobedience. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King, defending civil disobedience, cited Augustine an unjust law is no…
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Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once stated, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” For the purpose of this discussion, lets refer to unjust laws as “darkness” and refer to the peaceful resistance of unjust laws as “light.” In Utopia, peaceful resistance would not be necessary, because darkness would not exist. However, our world has fallen people with much darkness. Inevitably, unjust laws exist. For this reason, peaceful resistance…
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segregation In 1963, Martin Luther King planned a campaign against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. During the demonstration, he was arrested and lived in the jail for eight days. While he was in jail, he wrote his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to explain his actions. Martin Luther King Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail is important because, he explains the reasons for the non-violent demonstrations, he shows that black people are intelligent, and he criticizes the unjust laws of black people. Eight…
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hand. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attempts to establish an adequate definition of “just” and “unjust” laws. King knew he could not directly argue his beliefs of segregation because the clergymen made clear they were not impressed with anti-segregationists breaking the law. He knew in order to make a valid rebuttal he could not cause confrontation. What is most interesting about the letter is the style of writing King uses to argue for righteousness which compels…
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There are just laws and there are unjust laws in our society. According to Martin Luther King, 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 no law at all. Everyone of us has a power to decide whether you obey the rules and laws and or break the law and disobey the rules. To begin with, I would agree with St. Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all. I believe that it…
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intangible, it is still necessary. Some forms of inspiration come as passionate love while others appeal as injustice. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a response to "A Call for Unity" by eight white clergymen. His inspiration for writing the letter was the clergymen's unjust proposals and the letter allowed him to present his rebuttal. Martin Luther King Jr. effectively crafted his counter argument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen, and then using…
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Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., marched into downtown Birmingham to protest the existing segregation laws. All were arrested. This caused the clergymen of this Southern town to compose a letter appealing to the black population to stop their demonstrations. This letter appeared in the Birmingham Newspaper. In response, Martin Luther King drafted a document that would mark the turning point of the Civil Rights movement and provide enduring inspiration to the struggle for racial equality. Martin Luther…
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Segregation; unjust and ungodly Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 and came from a religious family. He attended segregated public schools in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated high school at the young age of 15 years old. He was a well educated man and in 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In April 1963 he was invited to Birmingham, Alabama to take place in non-violent demonstrations against segregation. Dr. King found himself imprisoned…
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