Martin Luther King Jr. was a very influential man, but who influenced him? A man named Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau, a philosopher, essayist, and naturalist, gave a speech in the 1840’s. Thoreau’s speech was very influential on King and many other activists during the civil rights movement. On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience was the name of Thoreau’s speech, or lecture, in which he spoke to people to tell them to rebel against any corrupt government. His main point was that if a government was corrupt do not be submissive, go with what you believe in and rebel. So during King’s jail sentence in Birmingham he wrote a letter replying to a group of clergymen. In The Letter From Birmingham Jail King uses some points from Thoreau to convince the
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Dr. King uses logical thinking to appeal to the audience. One time he uses logic is when he explains the tactics he uses “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps; collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action.”(262;par. 6) First off he is justifying the means of his nonviolent protests. Because it is telling the clergymen the steps of every nonviolent protest, the sentence is considered logic. Another example of logic that Mr. King uses is when he says "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.( 265;par.16).” He uses thoughts such as this to show indirectly that the laws he is contending are unjust. He also uses it to show reasonably what the definition of just and unjust law is. Doctor King used logic well in his …show more content…
Thoreau utilizes logic just as Dr. King did. He appeals to his audience many times throughout the lecture. He says “All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and endurable.” (942;par. 8) This is logic because “all men recognize” is saying that every person should be able to see such a thing and act upon it. It is straight from the constitution that you can revolt against a government in tyranny. Thoreau was effective because he tells the audience indirectly that they can revolt and they should if the circumstances are right. It also makes them think about the problems they see in the world. Thoreau is also using logic when he says “After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period continue, to rule is not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest.”(941; par. 4) He is appealing to the logic of his audience by saying the words “practical” and “hands of the people.” When he says the word “practical” the audience thinks well that is something I can do easily. When he says “hands of the people” it makes the people think it is obviously our duty making an obvious
Dr. King uses logical thinking to appeal to the audience. One time he uses logic is when he explains the tactics he uses “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps; collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action.”(262;par. 6) First off he is justifying the means of his nonviolent protests. Because it is telling the clergymen the steps of every nonviolent protest, the sentence is considered logic. Another example of logic that Mr. King uses is when he says "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.( 265;par.16).” He uses thoughts such as this to show indirectly that the laws he is contending are unjust. He also uses it to show reasonably what the definition of just and unjust law is. Doctor King used logic well in his …show more content…
Thoreau utilizes logic just as Dr. King did. He appeals to his audience many times throughout the lecture. He says “All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and endurable.” (942;par. 8) This is logic because “all men recognize” is saying that every person should be able to see such a thing and act upon it. It is straight from the constitution that you can revolt against a government in tyranny. Thoreau was effective because he tells the audience indirectly that they can revolt and they should if the circumstances are right. It also makes them think about the problems they see in the world. Thoreau is also using logic when he says “After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period continue, to rule is not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest.”(941; par. 4) He is appealing to the logic of his audience by saying the words “practical” and “hands of the people.” When he says the word “practical” the audience thinks well that is something I can do easily. When he says “hands of the people” it makes the people think it is obviously our duty making an obvious