In April 1963, civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned inBirmingham Alabama for participating in nonviolent demonstrations againstsegregation. A Court issued injunction had outlawed such demonstrations, butKing and other civil rights advocates chose to disobey the law. While in jail, Kingwrote a letter in response to a public statement issued by eight religious leadersexpressing concern over his act of civil disobedience.Explain how King defended his actions and discuss how you think John StuartMill would respond to King’s defense of his actions based on arguments hedevelops in On Liberty. Using the text of King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail andMill’s On Liberty, structure your paper as follows:1) Identify and explain the basic issues identified and explored by King, includingthe fundamental assumptions informing his perspective, and the argumentshe advances in support/defense of his position.2) Following this, explain how you think Mill might respond to King’s defense ofhis actions based on Mill’s position concerning the proper relationshipbetween society and the individual. This includes discussing the ways inwhich you think Mill’s views on the proper relationship between society andthe individual apply to King’s situation.3) By way of conclusion, consider whether King’s position on civil disobedienceraises issues not addressed by Mill’s views concerning the proper relationshipbetween society and the individual.Support your analysis through specific references to King’s Letter fromBirmingham Jail and Mill’s On Liberty. These are the only sources you shouldconsult, cite or reference for this assignment. King’s letter is available online at:http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/letter_birmingham_jail.pdfPapers should be between 1,000 and 1,200 words in length, written double-spaced, with 1.25-inch margins all around, and typed using a font size of 12 inArial style.
