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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page paper discusses the way in which Dr. Martin Luther King reacted to and adapted Thoreau’s ideas for his own struggle against racism. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
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5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVkgthor.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
civil rights movement, although Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael were also active at the time. But they advocated radical, even violent, change while Dr. King supported civil disobedience and peaceful
resistance. This paper considers how Dr. King reacted to and adapted Thoreaus ideas for his own struggle against racism. Discussion Its well known that Dr. King read Thoreaus work, as
well as Gandhis, and was influenced by both men. The idea of people having a right to resist policies that are unjust and unfair was something he clear took to
heart. Since he is so important in this discussion, lets turn first to Thoreau and his essay on "Civil Disobedience." Early in the paper, he asks if a citizen must
always "resign his conscience to the legislator" and if so, why do we have consciences in the first place (Thoreau). He believes that "we should be men first, and subjects
afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right" (Thoreau). This is a somewhat startling idea: that the law is
not always right, but a moments reflection will show that there are times when the law, followed to the letter, can result in injustice. Thoreau argues that the only obligation
he has "is to do at any time what I think right." He expands on this thought, which can seem somewhat presumptuous, by using the example of the corporation, which,
he says, "has no conscience" unless it is made of up conscientious men, in which case it becomes a "corporation with a conscience (Thoreau). The point is that its not
the entity that is conscientious, but the individuals who comprise it. He points out that the law "never made men a whit more just" and suggests that people who venerate
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