There are various things that differentiate Lincoln’s speech delivered in March 4, 1865 from Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham jail in April 16, 1963. Similarly, the two have some connections between them. These are the things that stand out in the two writings when you read them. It is what connects the two and the same time, separate them from each other, making the two men great orators in history.
The first connection is that both President Lincoln and Martin Luther King junior believed in religion and their reference to God in their writings. In his letter from Birmingham jail, King said “human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.” (King, 1963) In his second inaugural speech, Lincoln also attributed the civil war to God’s wrath for years of slavery “It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the seat of another men’s faces; but let us not judge not that we be not judged.” (White, 2002). From their writings, it is clear that both drew their faith from God. They both pray to God to help them succeed in their different causes.
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The second connection from King’s letter from Birmingham jail and Lincoln’s second inauguration speech is there immense dedication to speak and fight against racial segregation. In his speech, Lincoln calls upon the white people to stop discriminating and segregating Afro-Americans who he referred to as “people of color”. Throughout his speech, he speaks about segregation and the subsequent civil war and how the need for recognition has made the union fight for their rights to be treated like other Americans. Similarly, Martin Luther King Jr. was in jail after being arrested in Birmingham for a demonstration after he was called upon by some of his friends to peacefully demonstrate against segregation by the whites. Both men faced numerous opposition when they tried to destroy and end slavery.
The third connection between the two is that they tried to address everyone in expressing themselves in their writing. President Lincoln promises to love everyone and lack of anger towards any group of people when he stated that “with malice towards none…with charity for all”. In these two statements he implies his willingness to love everyone just as the bible teaches us to love. He does not promise any form of vengeance towards any group. Martin Luther King’s letter did not just address the clergy but a diverse audience. His message was spread widely and was able to affect people’s lives because of its purpose, which was to fight segregation, just like Lincoln’s. He was able to involve everyone in his writing therefore making a great impact even though he had addressed his letter to “dear fellow clergymen” (King, 1963)
The two demonstrated major difference in their thought of slavery. President Abraham Lincoln in his speech attributed slavery to God’s doing by stating that slavery had been allowed by God at his “appointed time” as a civil war judgment (Lincoln, n.d). The president saw the civil war as a punishment to Americas for committing the sin of slavery. Martin Luther King, on the other hand relied on God to help him fight the battle of segregation and did not believe that it was some form of punishment. To him, it was the white people deliberately refusing to accept the people of color and did not have anything to do with God.
Despite the connections and the difference in their approach, one thing stands out from King’s Birmingham jail letter and Lincoln’s second inaugural speech. Even though they lived a century apart, their passion towards fighting against racial segregation and their vision of how America would become a perfect union by giving citizens freedom and ending discrimination. They both supported the civil rights movements at their specific times in their writings and both got criticism from their opposers for choosing the causes.
Both writings from Martin Luther King’s Letter and president Lincoln’s second inaugural speech makes us reflect on tolerance and acceptance for each other. Both men were fighting for end of segregation not just for the blacks in the south but all over. Their efforts were to have the white supremacist accept their fellow Afro-Americans and offer them the same dignity as their fellow white men. Black people had been racially abused for centuries and enslaved in the only place they knew as home. To date, the Afro-Americans and people of color continue to suffer from racial abuse. The efforts have been made to accept each other but the work is not yet done. All people need to accept each other and see them beyond their race or color. They should love one another and let each one have their own freedom in the land of opportunities. No one chooses to be born a certain way and as the two leaders used religion in their writings, we should all demonstrate some form of love and kindness towards each other as God teaches us in the holy book. We have come from far and hundreds of years later, the racial segregation should no longer be a thing in the country.
Reference
King, L.M (1963). Letter from Birmingham Jail Retrieved from https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Letter_Birmingham_Jail.pdf
Lincoln, A. (n.d). Second Inaugural Address . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8VqFiU3fSU
White, R. (2002). Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural . Simon & Chester.
