Civil Disobedience Martin Luther King David Thoreau LA riot Essay examples

Though sparked by the Rodney King verdict, there were many other causes of the riots that erupted on the streets of Los Angeles on April 29, 1992. The Los Angeles riots in 1992 were devastating. The obvious issue portrayed through the media was black versus white. If you did not live in Los Angeles or California chances are you did not hear full coverage of the story, you heard a simple cut and dry portrayal of the events in South Central. If you heard one thing about the riots, it was that there was a man named Rodney King and he was a black male beaten with excessive force by four white Los Angeles police officers on Los Angeles concrete. The media portrayed the riots as black rage on the streets due to the

In Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, he is writing to the American people. He is trying to spark a desire for change, for people to oppose their government without actions. He uses this work to criticize the American institution of slavery as well as the Mexican-American War. Thoreau is attempting to convey the importance of listening to one’s conscience over the laws, believing that it is more important to do what they feel is right rather than listen to the laws given by the majority. Thoreau feels that people should protest against their government, but not using violent actions. He is trying to persuade the people to voice their opinions and break the chain of majority rule. Thoreau is writing during the time of the war between the United States and Mexico, which took place between 1846 and 1848. He writes to oppose the government’s actions and policies during this time period. He refused to pay a tax that would support the war and was imprisoned for a day. Thoreau uses ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade his audience to agree with his view of the American government and to voice their oppositions.

Thoreau refused to pay the poll ax because the money was being used to finance a war he was against. This war was over Texas, which was to enter the Union as a slave state. He wrote Civil Disobedience while in the Walden jail. Thoreau wrote how disappointed he was with the government by forcing him to pay a poll tax that supported a war and slavery. King would later go to jail acting on his beliefs. Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau used civil disobedience to change people’s ideas and beliefs to stop the injustice brought against them and their nation.

In Martin Luther King’s essay “Letter to Birmingham Jail”, he discusses racial injustice and peaceful protest. He talks on how brutal negroes were treated in jail and by policemen. King was jailed for parading around without a permit. In Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau spoke on the unjust government, nonviolent revolt, and against slavery. Thoreau went to jail for not paying his poll taxes because he refuses to align himself with the state. These essays show some similarities and differences that I want to bring to light. Two similarities that I found are that they both advocated for civil disobedience and they were willing to break the law if necessary. A difference that I discovered, was that in the two essays Thoreau and King focus on different issues for some matters.

Thoreau believed that individual integrity had the ability to triumph the government. Thoreau went to jail because he refused to pay his poll taxes for the past six years. Also, he protested against the Mexican war, and slavery, which also contributed to him going to jail and his views on the government. During his short period in jail he clarified that he did not dread it, and portrayed it as “Traveling into a far country” (964).

There are several similarities present in Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail. One similar opinion Thoreau and King share is their belief that protest against government injustice should be displayed and conducted in a non-violent manner. Thoreau did not recognize the government's authority over individuals, and he showed it through non-violent means. One example was the not paying of his taxes. He stated, "In fact, I quietly declare war with the State, after my fashion, though I will still make what use and get what advantage of her I can, as is usual in such cases." His use of the phrase "I quietly declare war..." plainly states his nonviolent protest of what he felt to be government injustice upon the citizens. King shared Thoreau's opinion that nonviolent protest was the best way to create change in government policies and laws. King states, "You may well ask: 'Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better

     Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau both believed that one should stand up for what he believes in, as wells as accepting the consequences for his actions. Even though they also had different views about what makes law just or unjust. First of all, Martin Luther King believed that a law that is just should be square with the moral law or the law of God. This basically means a law should pertain to the Ten Commandments according to the bible. He also thought an unjust law was one that was inflicted on to a minority who did not even have the right to vote for this law in the first place.

The two pieces of literature, Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Harlan Ellison’s “’Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman”, are two very distinct pieces of literature, but they are also very closely related. The quote is related to the short story because the concept of the quote is exemplified by the story. The machines are the people who conform, the leaders of the state by their heads are the Ticktockman and his staff, and the hero and enemy is Everett C. Marm, who is also known as the Harlequin. A way that the quote is exemplified in the story is that each element of the quote, the machines, leaders of the state by their heads, and the hero that is seen as an enemy, are personified in the short story.

Thoreau wholeheartedly agreed with the idea of questioning a law that many find unjust, and many agree with him. Citizens that engage in Civil Disobedience are not overextending any form of right, but are in fact using the ones given to them by their constitution. Also, by engaging in civil disobedience, citizens are criticizing their government, something that was encouraged in the Greek and Roman republics which the United States bases the government upon.

Have you ever felt a rule you had to follow was unjust? Have you ever felt your moral instinct tell you not to follow it? Prominent figures in American history, Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau, felt this way and decided to not follow the rules imposed on them by indulging in “civil disobedience”. Civil disobedience is the act of peacefully disobeying laws or customs with the purpose of combating moral injustice. This form of protest has proven to be quite effective in making change in history. In “Civil Disobedience” and the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, both Thoreau and King Jr. write their justification for their actions as well as their feelings regarding the particular disputed

Henry Thoreau’s essay influenced MLK immensely. Before Kings untimely death, said, “Fascinated by the idea of refusing to cooperate with an evil system, I was so deeply moved that I reread the work [Civil Disobedience] several times.” This essay really changed his life and paved that way to change led by MLK. “If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go: perchance it

Henry David Thoreau was a stubborn individual which decided to live life the way he thought it was intended to be lived. “A wise man will not leave justice to the chance of a majority vote” (Unknown). Thoreau was an individual that did not want to be like majority, he wasn't a person that went with the flow. He had his views and opinions on certain ideas and he stood firmly on them. People seem to agree with the majority of the laws that we live by today whether they agree with them or if they dont. Im not saying it wrong to agree with the laws that are set out for us by the majority of the population, but I also don’t disagree with disobeying the laws if they go against your moral standards. Every individual has a choice either agree with

All throughout world history, human beings have been pushed to their breaking points by authority figures. Some of these individuals band together and wreck havoc on society through acts of violence. Others prefer to act peacefully in a way they believe more likely to produce a positive outcome. All around the world, in every era of history, people have participated in acts of civil disobedience, peacefully protesting one wrong doing or another by simply disobeying laws, demands, or directions from those in power above them. However, in the last two centuries the belief in and practice of civil disobedience has been taken to a new level and has even brought about historical changes, especially concerning equal rights and just laws. Three major contributors to these peaceful protests, and activists in civil disobedience were Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Gandhi, and Henry David Thoreau. All three of these men participated in acts of civil disobedience but each in his own way and for different reasons. Martin Luther stood together with African Americans from across the country to demand equal rights for blacks. Mahatma Gandhi lead the Indian independence movement against British tyranny. Henry David Thoreau believed an ongoing war between Mexico and the Southern United States was unjust and refused to pay taxes to help fund it. This then lead to his arrest and imprisonment for a day during which he wrote the essay "Civil Disobedience."

First we are told in Civil Disobedience to make every effort to disconnect ourselves from the unjust system of ruling, and then we are told in Walden that very few of us are actually capable of any thought warranted as intellectual. Thoreau sets himself apart from King, Jr. by making himself a moving target.