Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr., and "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau. Specifically it will explain the reasoning of Thoreau's argument for civil disobedience and his general understanding of our obligation to law. Thoreau did not like too much government, or too many laws, and he felt people had a moral obligation to stand up to unjust laws, just as King did. Both men employed "creative protest" to get their message across to the public and gain support for their ideas and beliefs.

Thoreau believed in the ability of people to make their own decisions, not necessarily because of laws, but because of their own understanding of what is right and wrong. He wrote, "It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at...
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