He uses both historical and biblical allusions, to appeal to the clergymen’s ethical and patriotic understanding. King lists these allusions, starting with Jesus, Amos and Paul. These important figureheads in the Bible should be recognizable to his audience, the clergymen, and should hold their attention. King continues, easing the biblical into the historical, by throwing in figureheads in history that fought for their Christian beliefs. Martin Luther and John Bunyan both fought for their beliefs, paralleled with Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for his beliefs. This parallel would help the clergymen understand why he is fighting, rather than make him seem aggressive. From these, King moves to the specifically American Historical allusions, to spark a sense of patriotism within the clergymen, and help them realize that America has has important extremists in its’ history as