King’s distinction between “just” and “unjust” laws, he uses two different persuasive appeals. State what the two appeals are, and cite evidence from the text to support your answer.

Arguably the most sophisticated section of the “Letter” is Dr. King’s distinction between just and unjust laws. Simply put, he suggests that just laws uphold human dignity, while unjust laws demean it. Though he makes other subsumed distinctions (like the way just and unjust laws either punish or include minorities), this general definition serves to illustrate his overarching point: that laws are not separate from morality, but instead ought to be reflections of it. Presupposing that his audience accepts the virtue of morality (and more specifically, of Judeo-Christian morality), Dr. King illustrates that unjust laws demean all men, the oppressed and oppressor both. Thus, a moral man cannot simply suffer those laws because they are the law. The argument lays the groundwork for the “Letter” to pose a call to individual action, a defense of those who stand up and sacrifice themselves and their comfort in the name of freedom and justice.