Analysis Of Dr. King's The Ballot Or The Bullet

Improved Essays
On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence became one of the founding documents of the United States of America. Addressed to King George III, the king of Great Britain it explains the grievances of the American colonies and that they were leaving the British Empire. The preamble of this great document reads, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”(Jefferson) Declaring to the king of Great Britain, that they will no longer recognize his authority or live under his oppressive rule for they felt that he had violated the rights that the colonist seem to see as self-evident. This declaration although addressed to the king of Great Britain, was foreshadowing for all colonial rulers who held such power. Their colonies would no longer stand for being treated as second class citizens. To the world this was …show more content…
King in his interpretation of the American Dream, there are some who disagree with his values of peace. Malcolm X another civil right advocate is one of the main opponents of Dr. King’s methodology. In the speech “The Ballot or the Bullet,” Malcolm takes the opposite approach to dealing with the noble lie that is the American Dream. After being lied to for so long Malcolm X preaches the philosophy of Black Nationalism to his audience. Black Nationalism is “the political philosophy of Black Nationalism only means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community.” As opposed to loving thy enemy Malcolm X cries out for ignoring our enemy. Rather than boycotting and sit-ins, use the resources and support black entities. Ignoring the white American counter-part as they have ignored the words of their founding document. Educating the black community so that they can take over the political nature of their

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Declaration of Independence of the United States was made to inform the world that 13 united colonies of America were now free from Great Britain. It also explains why America decided to separate from the British and that their reasons why justifiable. America was now free to do anything that other independent states had to right to do. The newly states believed that God would provide them with a protection while trying to establish a form of government. There are two historians that interpreted what the Declaration of Independence meant to them, by the names of Bernard Bailyn and Howard Zinn.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In comparing the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, it will be shown that all three of these historical documents relate to one another in some form, especially the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. It is important to note the dates that each document was written, as this has bearing on the relationship between each document. The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, edited by the Second Continental Congress, and adopted by them on July, 4 1776. It was a written statement severing political independence of the thirteen original American colonies from Great Britain, therefore declaring themselves and independent nation.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Neko Larmie Mr. Owens American Experience 6 Oct. 2017 The Fight For Freedom Freedom is a universal right that has been given to all people and the fight for freedom has been expressed by many in many different ways. One of the notable people that have expressed their want for freedom would be the Patrick Henry, speech “ Speech to the Virginia Convention” and Malcolm X “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech.…

    • 899 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The fight for independence was defiantly not one of simplicity, but one of great distress, hardship, and catastrophe to bring liberty among the American colonies. Outstanding efforts by colonist and their leaders proved that the decision to gain freedom from Britain led to what is now an independent country governed by the citizens of the United States. In The Speech at the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry addresses the leaders of the community that the issues with Britain should not be taken peacefully but that the colonist should prepare for war if their needs are not met. Alongside, The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson states the colonies reasons to separate with Britain and declare war for their independence. Conclusively,…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Founding Fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence on July 4,1776 to explain the colonists opinion on why they wanted to become independent from Great Britain. The reason the colonist wanted to be independent from Great Britain was because of the taxes that were being handed to the colonist for multiple reasons. The Declaration of Independence declared Americans three rights which are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. This document had been signed on July of 1776 and marked the official separation between the 13 colonies and Great Britain. Then also the Declaration of Independence outlined the history of abuses the colonist had suffered under the British rule.…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Declaration of Independence was the unanimous decision by the thirteen colonies of the newly founded colony of America to break ties from their mother country Britain and achieve their own independence. As stated in the legendary document, and evident when looking back through history, the American colonists were being maltreated by their parent country Britain. Highlighted in the list of grievances put forth by Thomas Jefferson, America was oppressed and ultimately decided to break ties with their overbearing ruler. This document was written with more than one purpose. It was a document to inspire the entire nation of America to rally with their leaders and fight against their colonial oppression, as well as an explanation to the other…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Malcolm X Dbq Analysis

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Also, during the 1960s, African Americans struggled to find employment to be economically self-reliant. While Martin Luther King advocated for boycotts of businesses that did not support African Americans (Document 6), Malcolm X took his ideas a step further. X advocated for individuals to patronize their local businesses to improve the quality of their own neighborhoods (Document 7). This thinking would help to grow African American communities and help to bring them to be closer to economic…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The founding fathers were among the greatest thinkers of their time, to the founding documents they took inspiration from other American and European thinkers. America was founded on the these founding documents; The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and The Bill of Rights. The Enlightenment ideals of Deism, Liberalism and Republicanism were written into our founding documents the founding fathers. The Declaration of Independence was written to make the colonists fight against the royal crown legitimate.…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Antebellum Transformation

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As African Americans voiced their discontent and demanded dignity two distinct styles were followed to attain the goal of enjoying the right of equality. Some personalities gravitated towards the nonviolent methods encouraged by participating in boycotts, marches and sit ins lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King always stood his ground but never used violence as a way to be heard. On the other side of the coin were those who followed Malcolm X, following his Muslim principles his followers were taught to attain a desired goal “By Any Means Necessary”. Seen as a counterpart to the prejudiced faction of the southern white community Malcolm X felt that integration would destroy the black and the white man.…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Those who lived in the thirteen colonies under British rule experienced countless injustices from their leaders across the Atlantic. These repeated offenses finally became too much for the colonists to endure and they were forced to declare their independence from Great Britain. The colonial leaders at the time chose Thomas Jefferson to author this document, which eventually became one of the most iconic texts in American history. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson listed many of the colonist’s grievances against the King of England at the time, King George III and those complaints helped shape the U.S. Constitution and American life. One of the many injustices mentioned by Jefferson was that the King had “dissolved Representative…

    • 991 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Malcolm X achieves this by utilizing similar motifs. In his letter, King references the American Revolution (628) to mark a time when Caucasians utilized civil disobedience. Malcolm X takes King's idea and twists it into a violent one that best serves his purpose. By warping the patriotic phrase of liberty or death, into his mantra “the ballot or the bullet” (X 636) Malcolm X rouses the crowd to serve his methods. He changes their attitudes towards civil liberties by suggesting that only violence can defeat…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    By the time 1776 had come, the Declaration of Independence had asserted the United States’ independence from the mother country of Great Britain. This alone had shown the world that the people living in those states and colonies were their own independent people. The men of the new country had fought and died in their war for independence, and they soon had their own way and style of life away from Britain’s rule. After the war had been won, there had to be legal documentation stating the rights that the men and women in the new nation had. This is where the true identity of the American people emerged.…

    • 1718 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This document wasn’t so much as an instigator to revolution, but a means to ending it. It became the embodiment of how the revolution could end “THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS THE FUNDAMENTAL ACT OF UNION FOR THE COLONIES”. This document was what Americans were looking for, something that would allow them all to unite under one symbol. It held the ideals to which Americans all held to heart and believed with all of their beings. Consent, Freedom, and Duty were all mentioned in this document.…

    • 1664 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Declaration of Independence represented America’s ideals and morals as a country, and the ideas set the foundation for America today. The colonies were abused by the British Parliament with high taxes without representation, quartering troops, and overall harassment. This caused many American leaders to fight against these actions and prevent them in the future of the nation. The colonies declared independence from the British in result of the abuse with the Declaration of Independence that signifies major ideals that they were not given under British rule. America’s government has many ideals that they were found upon; unalienable rights is the most important because the rest of the ideals could not exist without it.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1964, America was struggling with one of the largest and most controversial civil rights movements in the world. Malcolm X was an advocate for this movement and although he was a Muslim, he wanted people to look past religious differences in order to end segregation and racial discrimination in America. This is when he gave one of America’s greatest speeches named, “The Ballot or the Bullet.” Through examples of logical appeals, the redirection of anger, and forms of repetition, Malcolm X effectively convinces Black America to fight for racial, social, and economic equality by supporting the idea of Black Nationalism.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays