Birmingham Jail Primary Sources

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in 1963, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Before the civil rights movement, the nation had the civil war, from 1861 to 1865. Then, following the war the country added the 13th amendment to the constitution, which made slavery illegal on December 6, 1865. Consequently, after the civil war the south went under “reconstruction”, a period in time where the federal government aided in rebuilding the southern states. Once President Hayes became president, federal troops left the south. Nevertheless, supremacists began to enforce segregation and limited African Americans from voting. However, Dr. King, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement advocated against segregation across

A primary source is a piece written at the time of the event; in addition, they’re written by someone who witnessed or experienced the event. For example, In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he states, “16 April 1963…While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." This would be an example of a primary document since Dr. King wrote it during the civil rights movement. While, secondary sources are not a first hand account of an event; equally as important, they analyze, summarize or evaluate a primary source. For example, in “America The Essential Learning Edition, Volume 2” written by David Shi and George Tindall it states, “The Montgomery bus boycott achieved remarkable unity. For 381 days, African Americans, women and men, used carpools…” (Shi and Tindall 987). This history textbook serves as a secondary source seeing that it’s written after this time period and is summarizing the accounts of the Montgomery bus boycott. When passing new laws or even in friendly debates, it is important to look at ways history is a part of secondary sources, while secondary sources are dependent on primary