Did martin luther king read thoreaus civil disobedience?
Dr. King was familiar with Thoreau’s essay, but I think Gandhi was much more of an influence on Dr. King than Thoreau. Of course, Gandhi too was familiar by Thoreau’s essay and was influenced by it, though I don’t know if that is really the main inspiration for Gandhi’s movement of nonviolence resistence. In his letter, Dr. King is writing to justify his aggressiveness and assertiveness in his efforts to bring about civil rights for blacks. By contrast, Thoreau, in his essay and in his life, was not so aggressive and assertive. Thoreau really was not a social reformer in the same way that Dr. King was. Dr. King really was an activist. He wanted to make things happen. Thoreau was really much more passive. He did not like activists, usually, though late in his life he did become a big admirer of the anti-slavery terrorist named John Brown. But, for most of his life Thoreau focused on being a quiet, private poet, philosophical essayist, amateur scientist, and nature writer. He did want a
