"How can a man be satisfied to entertain an opinion merely, and enjoy it" (Thoreau 152)? North and South as well as different eras are united in Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau's pursuit of individual justice. They do not sit idly by as a moderate with an opinion, but demonstrate their disdain over the lack of government detachment over personal freedoms. Thoreau published an essay entitled "Civil Disobedience" in which King took his roots, but transformed his actions into a non-violent approach governed by the word of God.
             Henry David Thoreau resided in New England where we was a prominent member of the Transcendentalist movement in which Ralph Waldo Emerson was also involved. Thoreau took action and stood up for his beliefs in the lack of necessity concerning a war with Mexico. For his actions he spent a night in jail. Shortly thereafter he published his writing "Civil Disobedience". Thoreau preaches to act out against the government when it's treatment of it's citizens is compromised or unjust. Hence Thoreau was opposed to slavery and would not allow slaves to return back to the South into the shackles their masters placed them in.
             In Selma, Alabama Martin Luther King Jr. stood up for what he believed in by practicing a non-violent approach to Thoreau's novel idea of civil disobedience. King was raised in the South where religion is the key factor in one's life. He based his life off the teachings of Southern Baptism, God's word is the highest. Man should not obey the Constitution in whole, but live by the words and teachings of their Lord and Savior. His actions were part of the Civil Rights Movement in which he was one of the most prominent participants.
             Great minds may think alike, yet one can always improve on their others ideas. Thoreau is governed by his own moral convictions whereas King is rooted in his religio
             ...