martin luther king Essay example

Submitted By bill2495
Words: 531
Pages: 3

3/11/14
Many influential leaders have chosen violent methods in order to improve the lives of the people whom they are representing. This method has been successful in certain circumstances but generally leads to much bloodshed and negative relationships. Non-violence methods, however, such as those used by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. have proven very successful. Gandhi effectively employed a method of nonviolence civil disobedience in order for India to gain independence from Britain. His methods significantly influenced King as he also used nonviolence methods in order to gain more rights and respect for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. Both King and Gandhi’s nonviolence methods considerably improved the lives of their respective race and help to show how violence does not always have to be the answer.
Mahatma Gandhi will always be remembered as one of the most successful nonviolent leaders in history. He greatly influenced Indians as they followed his leadership. They peacefully protested unjust British demands and policies while still calmly accepting and dealing with countless arrests and police brutality. The salt march led by Gandhi is a great example of a non-violent protest towards the British. Its purpose was to protest Britain’s new tax on salt. The tax was extremely detrimental to the Indians because salt was considered a necessity for them, not simply a luxury. In the salt march, Gandhi and his followers picked up salt from the ocean to represent the beginning of
Indians manufacturing their own salt. This was an illegal act, therefor leading to harassment. Ghandi strictly advised his Indian followers to accept the harassment and to not respond with any violent acts. Shortly afterwards Gandhi himself was indeed arrested. His nonviolent protest methods however gained him world recognition. Other countries influenced Britain to release him from jail and India eventually gained their independence in 1947. Gandhi’s methods proved successful and he showed how nonviolence can lead to a successful future. Martin Luther King Junior also implemented a strategy of nonviolence during the Civil rights Movement. He was a great admirer of Gandhi and his methods and saw