It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored" (King). King responds to the incredible unfairness of the situation carefully and demonstrates that even from in a prison, a person can argue logically. Both authors appeal to authority. Wollstonecraft lives in a world dominated by man and she must appeal to their logic is she is to make any headway with her arguments. She begins by examining the importance of education -- including the education of women. Educating women is important to Wollstonecraft and she builds her primary argument upon the principle that if women are not educated to "become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue; for truth must be common to all" (Wollstonecraft). Women are responsible for educating children and they should not under any circumstances, resort to a "false system of education, gathered from the books written on this subject by men who, consider females rather as women than human creatures" (Wollstonecraft). Here we see Wollstonecraft pointing to what she considers a major problem. Men did not respect women and they did not believe they were equal in such a way that they could be trusted with educating the young. However, they should be educated in the best way simply because they do educate young children.

King, too, must appeal with logic if he is to be successful. King recognizes the authority of the government in his letter and he wants his fellow African-Americans to recognize this authority as well. He wants others to realize laws already in place are flawed and unjust. He writes a law is unfair if it is "inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law" (King). King illustrates those individuals arrested did not even have the right to vote on...

This brings him to ask how anyone can claim Alabama's legislature was "democratically elected?" (King) since no clear democracy took place. The law is severely flawed and this is what King wanted those in authority to see. Like Wollstonecraft, King addressed a problem everyone recognized but no one knew exactly how to solve. They were fighting institutions and ideas but they are successful because they present their arguments rationally.
Wollstonecraft and King demonstrate the power of one voice. These two individuals did not stumble upon a miracle cure for unfairness and they did not solve the problem with their writings. However, they did fuel the fire that lead to freedom. They knew that a significant aspect of getting their message home was appealing to the powers that be in a rational and straightforward manner. There was no room for becoming hysterical or violent because any such actions would work against the cause each writer was fighting for in the first place. Wollstonecraft could not resort to tears and emotional ramblings because such actions would reinforce what men already believed about women. Likewise, King could not resort to nor could he call upon violent behavior to get anything accomplished because violence solves nothing. These writers took it upon themselves to create something that was sensible and could not be deconstructed by emotional leanings.

Works Cited

King, Martin Luther. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." 1963. University of Pennsylvania online.

Information Retrieved March 14, 2010.

http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html Web.

Wollstonecraft, May. "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman." Information Retrieved March 14, 2010.

http://www.bartleby.com/144 / Web.