Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau were both people who were sent

to prison for defying laws that they believed were unjust towards society. These two men

were very different people but were very much the same. Each had his own theories and

reasoning behind their acts, but their goals were always the same. Each man believed in

standing up in what they believed in no matter what the repercussions.

In Martin Luther King’s letter he says and believes that everyone, no matter

where they live are together in one community. You can’t say that what ever happens in

Atlanta does not affect you in Birmingham. If there is an injustice in Atlanta it affects

you in Birmingham and is a threat everywhere no matter who you are. If you live in the

U.S. you are never considered an outsider. King also believes that no one is weak and

unimportant and that everyone has a role in the community. No matter how small of a job

he has, if he doesn’t perform his obligations the community cannot function nor advance.

Thoreau, however is not so optimistic. He believes that what ever happens in Atlanta

does not affect other people or in that matter another city that has nothing to do with it.

He also believes that one person’s vote or participation can make a difference. Thoreau

holds that majority and nothing can change that.

Both men were put in jail for very different reasons. Thoreau was thrown in jail

for crime that he believed was unjust. He didn’t pay his poll tax. No matter how

insignificant the law was, he thought the state was unjust for having the right to tax him.

He stood up for what he believed in, and was not deterred from his beliefs when he was

threatened with jail time. He encouraged people to do the same. He felt that the

Government was corrupt and didn’t deserve his taxes. Martin Luther King also said that

you should stand up for what you believe in. King was arrested for participating in sit-in

at luncheon counters. This action to another man would not even be worth the risk of

getting thrown in jail, but to King the sit-ins were worth every second that he sat in jail.

His actions were self sacrificing and totally unselfish. He believed in his rights as a man

no matter who you were.

The biggest difference between Martin Luther King and Thoreau in my opinion

was organization. Thoreau had absolutely none. His opinions would change so many

times in his letter that he sometimes sounded hypocritical. He holds, if you can gather a

thousand people then maybe something would get something accomplished. But who has

time to organize every individual? Martin Luther King however was well organized in his

letter and his acts. He wrote his letter with every thought carefully picked and sure that he

got his point across. King also believed that you should find people with the same

thoughts as you and should form a group. He believed that every person has the potential

to help build a better society for all of us.

Martin Luther King and Thoreau were almost a hundred years apart. In those

hundred years not much has changed. People are still being treated like animals and laws

are made to favor the powerful. However the belief of equal rights will never change no

matter how years go by. King and Thoreau were as different as night and day, but their

beliefs and goals were identical.

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