The Declaration of Independence, created by Thomas Jefferson, is a classic argumentative work. Jefferson makes his point clearly and convincingly, but his argument is more tightly structured and does not utilize the variety of different rhetorical approaches that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr uses in ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’.

In that classic work, Dr. King employs several different rhetorical techniques to persuade his audience of the righteousness of his cause. He uses alliteration, anaphora, simile and metaphor among other linguistic devices.

The structure of both works is fairly basic. The Declaration of Independence is short and it gets immediately to the point. Jefferson introduces the critical issue right off the bat in the first paragraph: “When in the course of human events…”

He states his overall thesis in the second paragraph when he writes,

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…“

He then proceeds to outline the evidence supporting his thesis in the body of the work. The evidence he provides is preceded by the transitional phrase, “To prove this, let the facts be submitted in a candid world”.

Then Jefferson transitions into his forceful, nearly paragraph-long closing statement:

“We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States …”

Thereby basing his ultimate conclusion on the weight of what came before.

Thomas Jefferson uses inductive reasoning to show how King George is an unjust ruler; therefore he should not be obeyed. He also uses deductive reasoning:

“In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People…“

This illustrates for the reader how the United States has tried to appeal to the goodwill of the British Crown.

Both Jefferson and Dr. Martin Luther King use the rhetorical tool of repetition of certain words and phrases [anaphora] to hammer the point home to their respective audiences.

In the case of the Declaration of Independence, the words “He has…” are used repeatedly to describe what King George has done: 

“He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us…
He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People…
He is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death…
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country…
He has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us…etc…”

Dr. King uses “but”, “wait”, and “when” in the same way when he explains his reasoning as to why the Christian Leadership Conference can no longer simply wait around for justice to happen.

He is clearly appealing to the reader’s emotions, and their sense of common decency [pathos].

Dr. King’s argument is more fluid in structure and his thesis is not as rigidly defined as Jefferson’s. In the Declaration of Independence he employs more styles and different elements with multi-layered meanings in his essay. Dr. King uses phrases such as, “You may well ask…” and “Let us consider…” when he introduces a contentious issue.

Turns of phrase like “I hope…” and “I had hoped…” and “Moreover…” help make his case as he ticks off the boxes. He uses phrases such as, “You speak of…” when he refers to claims of the clergymen – using their own words to condemn them. Dr. King’s penultimate transition begins with the words:

“Before closing, I feel impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has troubled me profoundly. You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping ‘order’ and ‘preventing violence…’“

It’s like, “Oh, by the way…”And he proceeds to rip them to shreds as he describes just a few examples of police brutality that he witnessed first-hand:

“But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society…‘But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society…“

The similarities between the Declaration of Independence and ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ lie more in the content, however, than in the style of the writing, for obvious reasons; they were written over a hundred years apart.

However, both works address the themes of respect, independence, and the value of human life and dignity. Both arguments are logical and are very convincing. Both state their cases with forceful rhetoric eloquently and elegantly, offering evidence that is difficult to dispute.

Every time I read MLK’s ‘Letter’ I feel a profound sadness. I remember Dr. King. I remember when he was assassinated; how thick the air felt with sadness and grief. I was too young at the time [five] to truly understand what a tremendous loss his death was, but as I grew up, his famous “I Have A Dream” speech and ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’ had a huge impact on my outlook on life and my personal philosophy. I am sad because we need him so much today, not simply as an advocate for ‘Black issues’ or ‘civil rights’ but for the entire human race.

We need trustworthy leaders like MLK today who aren’t all self-aggrandizing bureaucrats. We need more people of good faith and strong values who can speak to our hearts as well as our minds. Sadly, these people are nowhere to be found.

All of my heroes – people like MLK and JFK and RFK – have been dead for a long time. They were the kind of leaders who didn’t need to read every word of their speeches from a goddam teleprompter like some kind of robot. They meant what they said and they spoke directly to us. Their words rang true and their passion was inspirational.

Dr. King was a great speaker and a brilliant writer. There is no one today who can move me with their words the way that people like Dr. King, Malcolm X or the Kennedys did.

The art of public speaking has truly been lost forever.

For me, the most compelling aspect of Dr. King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ is his powerful use of the English language. He is both subtle and direct as he transitions from one concept to the next, and he ties it all together in a way that is most artistic. Like an artist trying to fill an enormous canvas, MLK brandishes every rhetorical brush in his literary palette in order to paint a vivid picture of what is going through his mind while he languishes in jail.

His choice of words and his phrasing – the powerful visual imagery and the use of metaphor: the different approaches he uses to make his points are all factors which combine to make his argument compelling and thought-provoking. At one point he even compares Alabama to Nazi Germany.

His argument is so carefully and logically presented, there is no way to rationally refute it.

The most troubling aspect of ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ is not in the text itself; it has to do with the fact that the church leadership did not support him or his cause. Their hypocrisy is so blatant; why did MLK have to convince them of the righteousness of his mission? The parallels to Jesus Christ and his struggles are so obvious. On what grounds could the clergymen possibly advocate segregation? How could they stand by as peaceful protesters were attacked by the police? It makes no sense from a religious standpoint, and it certainly makes no sense from a constitutional perspective.

Dr. King throws their hypocrisy back in their faces by pointing out that they are circumventing the Will of God by following unjust laws when he writes, “the judgement of God is upon the church as never before…” He invokes the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and their refusal to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar.

‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ is a rhetorical tour de force.

Thanks to my atheist parents, I grew up with a healthy, deeply rooted contempt for organized religion – ALL organized religion – but I always admired men of religious conviction like MLK and Mahatma Gandhi who spoke with such eloquence about love, tolerance, and acceptance.

The words and deeds of men and women like Martin Luther King made me see that life can have meaning, and there is a powerful, loving force that guides the universe, whatever you want to call it. Thanks to people like Malcolm X, MLK and RFK and JFK, I recognized that power is in all of us. It just needs to be ignited.

Unfortunately, it is also easily extinguished.