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Thoreau and King, Jr. There are times throughout the history of the United States when its citizens have felt the need to revolt against the government. There were such cases during the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau, when there was unfair discrimination against the African American community and Americans refusing to pay poll taxes to support the Mexican War. They used civil disobedience to eventually get legislation to stop …

…recommending the position he feels his audience, as reasonable and moral people, should accept. Thoreau’s ideas had a powerful influence on the passive resistance ideas embraced by Martin Luther King Jr. in leading the movement to end racial segregation in the United States. Kings method is that of careful reasoning, focusing on the substance of their criticism. Above all, King remains grounded in logic, convinced that his arguments will in turn convince his audience.