"Letter From a Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" both display their authors' views on justice in their respective periods of time. King believes that one has the right to break a law that is morally unjust. Thoreau has a rather radical approach to the subject in that he believes when a government becomes unjust, it is the right and duty of the people to refuse participation in …showed first 75 words of 726 total…

…showed last 75 words of 726 total…Thoreau's plan of radical individualism and anarchy; even Thoreau doubted himself. In addition, "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" was much more clearly written and easier to comprehend than "Civil Disobedience." One important factor to consider though is that "Civil Disobedience" was written over a hundred years before King wrote his letter. Perhaps Thoreau's essay was very persuasive during the time that it was published. Then again, we still live in a governed world, not anarchy.