Martin Luther King Research Paper

Martin Luther King Jr. and John Robert Lewis were civil right leaders/civil rights activists around the ‘80’s, which is what everyone knows them as. However, some people didn’t know they both justified breaking the law. Martin Luther King Jr. was not only a powerful preacher, but as well an exceptional reader, as is proved in his 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail. Of Dr. King’s argument, the central point in his letter states that there is a law higher than mankind’s law. It also states that any human law which is at odds with this much higher law is unjust. Every human being is bound to obey as what Dr. King describes as the “higher law”, which is why our laws must be in harmony with this “higher law”. However for some reason, we as mankind

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, reflects on the historical events that have occurred and uses logical reasoning. In paragraph 15, he explains why he breaks the law, and the difference between just and unjust laws. In particular, he refers to the Supreme Court decision of 1954: "Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws." The Supreme Court's decision of 1954 was made because they claimed it was unconstitutional since they were breaking the Fourth Amendment. However, King highlights the fact that this "law" would be considered unjust because yes, they stopped segregation in schools, but they are still depriving African Americans of their lives.

Martin Luther King, Jr. sat in Birmingham jail not because he committed a crime but because he took part in a non-violent demonstration. King received an invite to a nonviolent demonstration by a local church and was later jailed for his actions (King 1). While in jail, King reflected on the injustice in not only Birmingham, but the world as well. King addressed injustice as a universal wrong which can only be undone by people themselves and not by action forced by the government. He quickly announced that keeping the peace and obeying the law are not the same, the people ahead do not simply relinquish their role because of the selfishness of the human nature. Those who are oppressed will seek to leave injustice behind. Martin Luther

Martin Luther King Jr. has landed himself in jail. He blocked off a roadway as a sign of protest, and ended up getting arrested for doing what was right. As Dr. King planned this he understood that he was most likely going to jail, but he needed people to see the bigger problem. Dr. King states, “you deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations.” What he means by this is that the people of Birmingham are upset that he was blocking a roadway and that he deserves to go to jail for that. But does not have the same anger towards the reason why they blocked the roadway in the first place. They don’t have the same anger for the injustice, discrimination, and racism that was happening during that time. So that is why Martin Luther King Jr. felt that it was necessary to take a stand and make a protest against all the hatred that was happening in Birmingham. Although Dr. King knew he was going to jail for doing this protest he felt that the message of it we be worth the risk. So he broke an unjust law

Martin Luther King Jr. was in jail because he took direct action to show all the unjust laws’ that were taking place. He showed civil disobedience by exercising rights that everyone had but, because him and his people were “black” they were treated differently under the same laws. For example, when he said “I have been arrested on a charge for parading without a permit… such ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest” (King, 4). By stating

Martin Luther King Jr. expresses his views for obeying “Just” laws, while disregarding “Unjust” laws because of moral purposes. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. King speaks on how he “Urge people to obey laws,” as well as “urge them to disobey segregation ordinances”. “I agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.” Dr. King’s reason for following certain laws and not others is because he believes there are two types of laws. Just laws are beneficial to all races and “Is the man-made code that squares with the moral law or the Law of God”, unjust laws neglects certain human races needs and personalities and “Is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.” Dr. King does not disapprove Supreme Court decisions, yet if it involves segregation he feels as though it “Distorts the soul and damages the personality.” Dr. King states, “Segregation is not only politically, economically, and sociologically unsound, it is also morally wrong and sinful.” At this point, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is past describing how segregation affects people, but is now saying how segregation for example affects the political system such as denying Negroes the right to vote. “Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters.” Negroes make up the majority population in the counties of Alabama “Not a single Negro is

to desegregate the United States. One of his most compelling arguments as to why he did what he did was written from a jail cell in Birmingham. In this letter to his “Fellow Clergymen” he explains the difference between a just law and an unjust law. King uses the quote “an unjust law is no law at all”, from St. Augustine, as his justification for breaking a law. When King and his followers were arrested they went to jail with no altercations, as this is the point of civil disobedience. A free society such as our own is still ruled over by a government, and our government needs to be regulated by the people who fall subject to its laws. Martin Luther King Jr. does an exceptional job of explaining to us the thought process of a person that participates in civil disobedience when he said “I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law” (King). For change to occur, something has to happen to get the government's attention. In the United States we are lucky enough to have the freedom of free speech and we make the most of

When he was arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama he then fell under criticism by white clergy for coming to Birmingham as an “outsider” to cause trouble and increase tension through public sit-ins and marches. I feel that Martin Luther King was able to both set aside that criticism by establishing his credibility to have not only been invited to come to Birmingham to help end the injustice to the Negro people via peaceful means, but he was able to identify moral, legal and ethical cause to promote his quest to put a stop to what he identified as “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” (King, 2017, p, 3). I will provide a summary that will show what Martin Luther King believed were the cause of the injustice that he was striving to end to as well as his concern over the white community’s ability to make the Negro “wait for more than three hundred and forty years for our constitutional and God-given rights.”

Martin Luther King Jr., was a civil rights activist who spoke freely about civil disobedience in the Letter from Birmingham Jail while he was locked up for civilly disobeying the law. He was writing to eight white clergymen that also felt that many of the laws were unjust, however they showed agreement with Socrates by stating that he should not disobey the laws. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “one has a moral responsibility to disobey just laws because if we did not disobey them then unjust acts would continue to occur, causing our country to be harmed”. He also stated that “an unjust law is no law at all”. Martin Luther King Jr. did believe that laws were setup and enforced to assist and support the residents of the state however, if a law was unfair or unconstitutional, then the law would

To begin with, Martin Luther King Jr can be proven to be justified in breaking laws because the laws he broke were morally wrong because they were laws that didn’t allow all people to be equal. As stated in paragraph 2 of the Excerpt from Letter from Birmingham Jail “Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I

Martin Luther King jr. justified rebellion and civil disobedience in one statement. The statements King makes can be thought of as being contradictory. He rationalized this by answering this question,““How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not

What is law? Law is a system of rules used to govern a society and control the behaviors of its members. In this case, Martin Luther King is charged for breaking a law. King questions the differences between just and unjust laws to justify his actions in Birmingham and the charges of breaking laws willingly. Defending his willingness to break laws, King argues, “How can you advocate breaking laws and obeying other?” He answers to accusation of his willingness to break laws with a well-written argument of what is just and unjust laws. Martin Luther King uses the definition, the categories, and the implication of the law excellently to answer the charges of breaking laws willingly.

Not only were many laws changed and created, but even more were broken in an attempt to better our once unjust society. Martin Luther King Jr., arguably the most influential leader of this movement, was an avid supporter of civil disobedience during this era. He participated in countless sit-ins and protests, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956, in which he and almost one hundred other activists were arrested for peacefully protesting discrimination in the Montgomery public transit system. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, written in 1963 after he was arrested for partaking in a nonviolent protest, King offers explanation as to why he practices civil disobedience and what he hopes to achieve in doing so. In this letter, King admits, “In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law…that would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. However, he also stated that in this fight, it is necessary to “[stand] up for what is best in the American…thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence”. In his words, civil disobedience is more than ignorance of law; it is just one of the necessary measures that must be taken to restore equality in a

During the Civil Rights Movement, King made many arguments surrounding the laws of our country. While he chose to break some of those laws in the protests and marches that he led, he displayed and argued for the truth of the laws in a majority of his campaigns. Many times, King referred to the natural law and how humans living together in America need to abide by it in any situation. According to the legal dictionary, natural law can be defined as an “unwritten body of universal moral principles that underlie the ethical and legal norms by which human conduct is sometimes evaluated and governed.” King uses this concept many times as he fights for not only his freedom, but also the freedom of black people in the communities around him. In King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail he states, “[o]ne has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws, but conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” (summit.org). King used the laws as a foundation for his fight, and whenever he was accused of being unjust, he fought back with the truth of the legal system that backs up his argument. This strategy contrasts the Socratic method because King does not question the truth behind the laws, but rather, he uses them to his advantage. If he were to approach

Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech from “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” explains that breaking the law is allowed in dangerous and extreme situations (1991). He says that before taking action his group checked to make sure it was fine such as finding lots of evidence of injustice, taking place in discussions with those in charge and made changes to themselves (King, 1991, pg. 406). This appeals to subjective relativism, the view that ethical judgments depend on the situation (Vaughn, 2016). King explains that the land originally belonged to them others that did similar things in Asia and Africa (1991, pg. 407). Kings says that there was a serious threat against them that resulted violence, racism and poverty (King, 1991, pg. 407). King explains that are unjust and just laws (King, 1991, pg. 408). Unjust laws are human laws that break the will of god (King, 1991, pg. 408). Natural law theory is the belief what happens is in accordance