Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Thoreau and King. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page paper uses Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to compare the two men’s positions on issues. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVThoKng.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
of the two men. Discussion There is no doubt that Thoreau was an influence on King; in his autobiography, Dr. King says as much: "I became convinced that noncooperation with
evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. No other person has been more eloquent and passionate in getting this idea across than Henry David Thoreau"
(King, Autobiography). However, despite the fact that Thoreau was an inspiration for him and how to go about what he wanted to do, the two works are not necessarily similar.
Thoreau is talking about government in general, while King is writing a letter defending his actions to other critical clergymen. In discussing government, Thoreau says that he agrees with
the idea that the best government is the one that governs least, since governments are so easily corrupted (Thoreau, 1849). He uses the analogy of the standing army, and
says that there have been many objections it which "deserve to prevail"; and adds that the same objections can be made "against a standing government" (Thoreau, 1849). The standing army
is a branch of the government, and the government is the means by which the people "execute their will" (Thoreau, 1849). Unfortunately, the government is as likely as the army
to be "abused and perverted before the people can act through it" (Thoreau, 1849). He cites the example of the Mexican War, which he describes as "the work of comparatively
a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure" (Thoreau, 1849). Government has never furthered any
enterprise, "but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way. It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate.
...