Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr are both leaders and have influenced countless people with similar beliefs and wanted to achieve goals that were almost identical to one another. Both men were leaders at different times in history but they both fought for civil rights for African Americans. Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and Martin Luther King Jr’s open letter from Birmingham Jail have several ideas that connect to each other. The similarities in both of their writings have included segregation, the way they portray their perspective with the type of strategies they have, and their faith in god. These three things are what tie Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr together when it comes to the similarities in their writings.
First, when reading Abraham Lincoln’s Inaugural Address and Martin Luther King Jr’s open letter from Birmingham Jail, you will notice that both writings talk about segregation. Martin Luther King Jr was very strong-minded when it came to segregation because he is African American who wanted equality by organizing non-violent protests. According to Martin Luther King Jr (2017), “All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality.” (pg. 810) This quote shows that MLK Jr was highly against the separation of the colored people from Caucasians because it can change a person’s perspective and thoughts when witnessing the behavior between the two. For example, if a young Caucasian child sees that her parents are acting rude and treating an African American badly, the child will grow up thinking that behavior is okay and will do the same which can damage her personality of being a kind soul to the “colored people.” As for Abraham Lincoln, He said it was unconstitutional when there was a separation of the southern (confederate) states, so he wanted to preserve the Union.
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Not only was segregation a big part of their writing, but the way both men portrayed their perspectives with the types of strategies they used to show how much of a change they wanted to make was also important as well. Martin Luther King Jr did non-violent direct actions like sit-ins, marches, and so forth. He chose to do nonviolent actions to negotiate to get his way because it was a better plan. With non-violent direct actions, it pursued to create a catastrophe and stand in a such strain that a community that has constantly rejected to negotiate is involuntary to confront the matter. Lincoln may have not done non-violent protests like MLK Jr, but he went directly to the people. He directly went to the people and told the world what he wanted to do to make the issue better and what actions can be done to improve how the Caucasians treated the “colored people.”
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Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.: Comparative Essay.
(2023, April 21). Edubirdie. Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/abraham-lincoln-and-martin-luther-king-jr-comparative-essay/
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