Letters from Birmingham Jail and Keynote Address at the...

Letters from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King and Keynote Address at the First Womans Rights Convention by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony It was Thomas Jefferson who uttered the words That all men are created equal.... However, over one hundred years would pass before these words would mean anything. Equality among all Americans would come with the adoption of the fifteenth, nineteenth, and twenty-fourth Amendments. Before these amendments were passed not everyone had equal rights. African-Americans and white women had almost no rights at all. Their road to equality is large due to three very important†¦show more content†¦Martin Luther King used the same idea of unjust laws to justify his actions and nonviolent campaigns. He used this idea to answer the question of how he can support the breaking of some laws, but not others? His simple answer was that there are two types of laws, just and unjust, and an unjust law is no law at all. (80). He goes on to quote St. Thomas Aquinas, ...Any law that uplifts personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. (80) and says that any individual that breaks an unjust law and accepts the punishment of imprisonment actually has the highest respect for the law. (81). King makes a very strong point in distinguishing just and unjust laws to advocate his actions, just like Stanton and Anthony do in their address. Martin Luther King also used religion and the bible to ascertain his reasoning. First, King uses religion to dispute the claim that his non-violent actions should be condemned because they promote violence. He does this by making a direct relation to Jesus. Isnt this like condemning Jesus because his unique God-consciousness and never-ceasing devotion to Gods will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion. (82). King makes a strong case by saying condemning him would be like condemning Jesus. King again uses religion when he is labeled as an extremist, by turning it into a good thing. He calls Jesus an extremist for love,