Throughout American history, it is clear that many individuals have fought for

justice in a society that has often denied it. We know this information from

documents written by these individuals expressing their feelings on a certain

subject. On the subject of human rights, two specific men have expanded

their thoughts to make a difference. The very popular Dr. Martin Luther King

Jr., whose main philosophy on civil disobedience revolved around

nonviolence, wrote a “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to eight clergymen

informing them of the situation in Birmingham, Alabama, in April of 1963.

Henry David Thoreau, a 19th century individualist, wrote an essay called

“Civil Disobedience” in which he explained his reasons for not paying taxes

to a government that was involved in an unjust war with Mexico. Although

these works were written for different causes, the two are similar in some

ways. Both are similar in how they get the reader to see and feel what the

Both men, King and Thoreau, used emotional appeal in their work.

This was used to gain support from the reader by creating a feeling of

sympathy to be felt by the reader. Dr. King’s most emotion

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