Rhetorical Comparison of Lincoln and King

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) and Martin Luther King (1929-1968) wrote with an astounding historical importance extending well beyond their own time. As a young lawyer Lincoln was concerned with the high degree of lawlessness surrounding him. Leery of the growing rage of the mob rising in mid-nineteenth century America Lincoln penned "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions" arguing for the importance of civil law and the necessity of civil obedience. Nearly a century later the unjust and racially prejudicial society framing King forced him to dissent and compose the now justly famous essay "Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963." Choosing to center an antisegregration drive in Birmingham, Alabama, King wrote this piece as a rallying cry to join the nonviolent movement beginning to stir in the racially divided deep South. Lincoln and King stand as two of America's greatest political writers, combining passion with eloquence, commitment with inspiration and demanding that compassion and honesty never be sidestepped.

A comparison between Lincoln's "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions" (1837) with King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963" is a bit unfair to Lincoln's legacy. Although neither essay is considered to be the best of these two authors, Lincoln's essay dates to a period when historians have named him as a hack, a not fully evolved statesman (Burlingame, 1). Scrutiny of Lincoln's development suggests tha

. . .
rty" depend upon a strict adherence to the law as it is written (Lincoln, 84). In "Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963" King addresses his thoughts about civil injustice experienced by blacks in the South to "My Dear Fellow Clergymen" (King, 85). In contrast to Lincoln, his concerns are immediate rather than predictive. He writes with a mixture of conviction and angst. Dedicated to his just cause, he is disappointed that others are not eagerly backing his efforts to desegregate the South. Yet the tone he adopts is both firm and gentle. King's stance is ethical and his rhetorical assumption that all good men will be forced to assent to the correctness of his position eventually. Attempting to persuade others who have not enlarged their own vision, King does not offer any concessions. His participation in Birmingham's antiviolence campaign is divinely inspired. King begins his essay by asserting that he does not routinely respond to criticism. To do so would be counter- productive. Yet if his critics, men who he assumes to be of goodwill, remain in ignorance, it becomes his task to instruct them. First, he insists that he should not be mislabeled as an outsider. As President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Citizen Councilors, Lincoln King, Louisiana Lincoln, St Augustine, Apostle Paul, According Lincoln, Scrutiny Lincoln's, King's Worried, Clergymen King, Asians Africans, lincoln king, political institutions, birmingham jail, birmingham jail 1963, letter birmingham, perpetuation political, lincoln 80, martin luther, king 87, king 85, letter birmingham jail, perpetuation political institutions, jail 1963, christian leadership conference, martin luther king,
Approximate Word count = 2584
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)