Even with slavery being abolished with the 13th amendment, citizenship with the 14th amendment, and Black Americans given the right to vote with the 15th amendment, the United States still had inequality. It was not until 58 years later that the infamous “equal but separate” court case Plessy v Ferguson (1896) was overturned by Brown v Board of Education (1954). Many received this decision with great resistance and hatred, especially in the south (Fiero). Throughout the history of the United States, Black Americans have always fought for their rights. The Civil Rights Movement emerged in the mid-1950s. Martin Luther King Jr. made himself a name advocating in the Civil Rights Movement: “His involvement in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s …show more content…
Even after decades of being written, it is still being studied. The response for “A Call for Unity” that King wrote in his letter was, “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice” (King). Here King explained what he views to be the greatest enemy for African American’s is the white moderate who does nothing because they view change to be too chaotic, seeing fit to just wait. In the letter, King made a persuasive point about why this is harmful towards the Civil Rights Movement. Since it will be more confusing, less progress will be made with people that somewhat accept than people who completely disagree with the movement. This letter became famous and leading for its persuasive method: “It is of no surprise, then, that his seminal work, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” has been studied from a variety of perspectives, including its logic, philosophy, and prose” (Sails-Dunbar). For example, high school students are given “Letter from Birmingham Jail” as a required document to comprehend for advance placement in United States Government and Politics. According to AP College Board, “Ask students to discuss the arguments presented in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” This influences students from an early …show more content…
Civil disobedience is defined as not listening to the orders of a government without resorting to violence. The letter itself is a creation of civil disobedience: King was placed in jail because of the Birmingham protest. In the letter, King understands and expresses why he uses the power of civil disobedience: “To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience” (King). King followed other prominent figures who created change using civil disobedience and thus processed in aiding the Civil Rights movement. A study conducted by Alexander Livingston from Cornell University details how King’s Letter justifies civil disobedience using “The Constitution” and “The Declaration of Independence.” King created a stepping stone for others to do the same: “The ideal theory of constitutional civil disobedience constructed during these years has become virtuously synonymous with King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (Livingston). Alexander Livingston connects the theory of constitutional civil disobedience with Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This demonstrates that America has been influenced by King’s letter, especially with civil disobedience portrayed within modern movements like Black Lives Matter. King’s actions infinitely affect America with “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” because people still follow the beliefs and
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous “A Letter from the Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963 while he was imprisoned in the Birmingham Jail for being involved in nonviolent protests against segregation. The letter is directed at eight white clergymen from Alabama who were very cynical and critical towards African Americans in one of their statements. Throughout the letter, King maintains an understanding yet persistent tone by arguing the points of the clergymen and providing answers to any counterarguments they may have. In the letter, King outlines the goals of his movement and says that he will fight racial inequality wherever it may be. Dr. King uses the appeal three main rhetorical devices – ethos, logos, and pathos – in order to firmly, yet politely, argue the clergymen on the injustices spoken of in their statement.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham, for having a protest without a proper permit. On the exact day King was arrested, eight clergymen from Alabama wrote a letter called “A Call for Unity.” The letter called for termination of civil activities and demonstrations and designated King an “outsider” and saying that outsiders were the problems in Birmingham and not the blacks that are from there. On April 16 King wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which was his responds to his fellow clergymen. He wrote the letter as a means to convince the clergymen and the white moderate that the nonviolent demonstrations that had got him arrested, were a necessity and to enlighten them on why the segregation laws in the southern states needed to be changed. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King uses logos, pathos, and ethos to persuade the clergymen and convince them in assisting him in putting an end to segregation laws of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Letter from Birmingham Jail was written in 1963 by Martin Luther King, Jr. During this period, the African Americans were involved in a battle for white and black equality. This is evident from the vocabulary used by King including “Negro” which was common during that period but not used commonly afterwards. Moreover, the letter’s context tells it argues that King wanted was African Americans to have freedom. The letter’s purpose is that King wants to persuade the clergymen what he together with his people were demonstrating since it was extremely necessary during that period. In achieving this, King utilizes persuasive and condemnatory tones so that the reader can consent with him. King Luther King, the author of Letter from Birmingham Jail, presents a valid argument through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos in the entire piece with the intention of explaining his actions and changing the audience’s opinions.
The “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” is a text directed to all of America in 1963, written by Martin Luther King Jr., during his stay in one of the of Birmingham’s prisons. His intention of writing an open letter was to tell the world the injustice “the white people” had done not only to him, but to all Afro-Americans. The main stimulus was a statement made by a Clergymen naming the actions and the activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as unwise and untimely. However, the purpose of this letter is to show that those actions are totally wise and timely.
When reading historical letters and or other types of reading materials, one cannot bear to become intrigued when reading these didactic and informative pieces of art. For example, one of the most known and most important pieces of historical masterpieces’ would have to be Martin Luther King’s “ Letter From Birmingham Jail.” This letter was written in response to the published statement that was written by eight fellow clergymen from Alabama. Those eight fellow Alabama clergymen were Bishop C.C.J. Carpenter, Bishop Joseph A. Durick, Rabbi Hilton L. Grafman, Bishop Paul Hardin, Bishop Holan B. Harmon, the Reverend George M. Murray, the Reverend Edward V. Ramage, and the Reverend Earl Stallings.
In the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. responds to an article by eight clergymen, in which he explains the racial injustice in Birmingham, and reasons why King's organization is protesting for Civil Rights. He introduces himself and his actions at the beginning of his letter. He states that the purpose of his direct action protest is to open the door for negotiation on the Civil Rights. He tries to convince his audience by providing evidence in order to gain his audience to be involved in his movement and support him. He also highlights police actions against nonviolent Negros and crimes against humanity in Birmingham city jail.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is known to be a civil rights activist, humanitarian, a father, and a clergyman. He is well known for fighting for the equal rights of colored people and ending discrimination. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is an important part of history that showed King’s opinion of a letter that he happened to read in the newspaper written by a group of clergyman. In this letter, the group of clergyman report that colored people, also known as black people, are being violent towards Birmingham City. Also, the clergymen believed the time that will allow segregation to be diminished was not happening anytime soon because it is not convenient. King refuted the clergymen’s argument in a variety of ways using tactics of argumentation and persuasion like appeal to emotion through real life examples, appeal to logic, and even articulating certain phrases through metaphors and word choice. Many of these different tactics of argumentation and persuasion made his letter very effective and is now seen as a great piece that is looked upon highly today.
Letter From Birmingham Jail was a thoroughly written letter by Martin Luther King Jr. It was written in response to a group of clergymen who criticized and questioned King’s actions in Birmingham. The letter explicates that people have the right to break unjust laws in a nonviolent manner just as King intended to do. King also took the central components of the criticism and addressed them separately within the letter. King used numerous rhetorical devices to structure his letter and make it appeal more to the audience.
King writes the letter to defend his organization's actions and the letter is also an appeal to the people, both the white and black American society, the social, political, and religious community, and the whole of American society to encourage desegregation and encourage solidarity and equality among all Americans, with no stratifications according to racial differences. King's letter from Birmingham Jail addresses the American society, particularly the political and religious community of the American society.
There are very few documents in the history of the United States that share the social impact of Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham jail. The aim of Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter was to illustrate the unwillingness of the American South to create positive change because it was afraid of redefining its beliefs, afraid of tension; defining peace as the lack of racial tension instead of the presence of justice and truth. In essence, the letter was a challenge to American society to look within itself and create change.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the leader of a peaceful movement to end segregation in the United States this mission led him in 1963 to Birmingham, Alabama where officials and leaders in the community actively fought against desegregation. While performing sit-ins, marches and other nonviolent protests, King was imprisoned by authorities for violating the strict segregation laws. While imprisoned King wrote a letter entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, in which he expresses his disappointment in the clergy, officials, and people of Birmingham. This letter employed pathos to argue that the leaders and ‘heroes’ in Birmingham during the struggle were at fault or went against their beliefs.
Letter from a Birmingham Jail Is an individual morally justified in breaking a law? The answer to this question is yes,. There are several reasons that have made me believe that it is morally justifiable in breaking the law; however, the most convincing comes from Dr. Martin Luther King in his letter from the Birmingham Jail. " We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal." (Classic Arguments 668 -.
Christianity is the absolute most influential idea in today’s society. What individuals perceive as right and wrong is actually based on Christianity. So by using religion in his letter, King was able to connect and force the clergymen to engage in his words. Overall, “Letter to Birmingham Jail” is very convincing in justifying the civil disobedience and morals of dealing with the civil rights. Moreover, King’s response was strong and, without a doubt, proved his commitment to civil rights.
Aristotle is a very citable man when it comes to the way we think today. His rhetoric techniques are still being used in today's society. The Neo-Aristotelian Criticism is three different appeals of persuasion. This is ethos, pathos and logos, which makes one heck of a convincing argument. Ethos gives credibility, pathos shows emotion and logos uses words. In the text, Letter from Birmingham Jail, we find many examples of the criticism. Martin Luther King Jr. is writing a letter from inside the jail of Birmingham in April of 1963. This letter King wrote was in response to a letter he received from the religious leaders after King is making a stand against the racial issues in Alabama. These leaders stand firm in their letter when they say that when rights are being denied, they should be handled in the courts with negotiations and not in the streets. The authorities have placed Martin Luther King Jr. against his own will after his demonstration of desegregation. While incarcerated, King managed to find anything and everything to write this letter that is now famous for being a link to the end of public racism all over the nation. The content of the letter is filled with appeals of ethos, pathos and logos, which is necessary to make a strong argument.
In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," his thoughts and ideas are directly stated, well expressed, explained, and illustrated. King's style of writing gives the reader a clear glimpse into the world with which he struggled and allows his letter to be powerfully effective.