ely. The two writings shared the fact that the majority was not necessarily right, but they have always between the ones in power because they are the strongest and the most influential (Kevin Franklin 1). Therefore, laws written by the majority are mostly in favor of the majority, and are enforced by the majority. Martin Luther King Jr. stated that, “if a law denies the right of the minority or is inflicted upon the minority by force, then it is not a just law.” This is similar to Thoreau’s idea when he wrote, “But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice,” (1:1425). Both agreed that unjust laws should be broken. King adopted ideas from Thoreau on how to deal with unjust laws performed by the government. King actually adopted Thoreau’s teachings and ideas of direct action and used them in leading the movement to end racial segregation in the United States.Henry David Thoreau was a brilliant transcendentalist writer, who not only influenced people of his time, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, but many great leaders in the past century. Civil Disobedience paved away for non-violent protests that were more effective in changing unjust laws. Martin Luther King Jr. followed many of Thoreau’s teachings and which made segregation no longer a problem in America. Two other great leaders that Thoreau influenced were Mohandas Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela. Thoreau inspired reforms and the overturning of unjust laws and customs. If it weren’t for Henry David Thoreau and Civil Disobedience, many unjust laws might have been still in effect today.Written by Brian Verzal...
