Martin Luther King Jr. as the Greatest American in History
[b]Martin Luther King Jr. as the Greatest American in History[/b]
Throughout history, there have been many great leaders that helped our nation become what it is today. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was by far a significant leader with outstanding accomplishments. He understood that the ideals of equality in which our nation was founded must not only be ideals but realities as well. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. devoted his life for the struggle of the discrimination of blacks and by doing so, he accomplished much more than that in his lifetime.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia.. His ancestors were all followers of civil rights which made him join civil rights naturally. His grandfather was in the National Association Advancement of Colored People and his father was a pastor of a Baptist Church and a civil rights leader. In 1953, Martin Luther King Jr. attended Morehouse College where he became Valedictorian and married Caretta Scott King. In 1955, he attended Boston University where he obtained his doctrine.
At this time in American History our nation was far from meeting the promises in the Declaration of Independence. Many states denied voting rights for African Americans. Segregation and discrimination was openly practiced in schools, buses, lunch counters and hotels and in some states, the law sanctioned discrimination. In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person in Montgomery Alabama and was arrested for it. Martin Luther King Jr. began a boycott against the bus system. In response to this boycott, his house was bombed. Dr. King did not give up, he fought for life, liberty and pursuit of happiness that was promised to all people in the Declaration of Independence. In 1956, the bus system ended segregation and segregation was unconstitutional in Montgomery Alabama. King believed in nonviolent protest to express his ideas to people about reforms. This anti-violence technique is called civil disobedience. King based this technique on the teaching of the Indian political leader known as Gandhi. Gandhi had fought for independence in India from Britain. King believed this protest technique can be used as a weapon against oppression and can cause great tension in America...