Aundreia S.

Moore January 24, 2009

Week One Assignment

Natural Law, Legal Positivism, and Legal Realism were clearly drawn out in both

the letter from the clergy and Dr. King’s response back to them.

Dr. King, in my opinion, demonstrated his beliefs of the Natural Law in

several ways. Our text defines Natural Law as “the belief that government and

the legal system should reflect universal moral and ethical principles that are

inherent in human nature.” Dr. Kings believed that because it was morally

correct to treat people equally regardless of color. Dr. King believed that it was a

human’s natural right to have freedom nonetheless the same freedoms as their

white, non-colored neighbor. There were many occasions where Dr. King made

statements describing the fate of “our” legal system if “we” if our government did

have the same mind set of the Natural Law. Dr. King stated, “I had hoped that

the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of

establishing justice and that whey they fail in this purpose they become the

dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.” Dr. King

made several references to previous leaders who seemed to have also illustrated

Natural Law. Like Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King

believed that it was a necessity for the government to treat all with fairness and

equality regardless of the color of ones skin.

In addition to Natural Law, Dr. King demonstrated the beliefs of Legal

Positivism as well. Our text defines Legal Positivism as “a school of thought

centered on the assumption that there is no law higher than the laws created by

a national government. Laws must be obeyed, even if they are unjust, to prevent

anarchy.” Dr. King refused in his letter to the Clergy to respond with any
Aundreia S. Moore January 24, 2009
Week One Assignment

violence. It was almost as if he felt there was nothing more that could be done to

their situations other than acting peacefully. It was as if Dr. King believed that no

law was higher than the law created by the government and that meant those

laws had to be followed regardless of how the Alabama government treated

African American’s. He made reference to Jesus being crucified on the cross

and how he did not fight back. In Dr. King’s mind, that was how good Christian

African American’s should react to their mistreatment in the South. Despite the

treatment from the Alabama government, Dr. King was determined to continue

his fight in peace due to his own personal Christian beliefs.

The Clergymen illustrated Legal Realism in their letter to Dr. King. These

men looked at the current situation of African Americans in Alabama and wanted

to do the most realistic thing possible. They believe that acting quietly may not

get the point across and that they may not be heard. Our text defines Legal

Realism as “a school of thought of the 1920’s and 1930’s that generally

advocated a less abstract and more realistic approach to the law, an approach

that takes into account customary practices and the circumstances in which

transactions take place. This school left a lasting imprint on American

Jurisprudence.” The clergymen recommended peaceful demonstrations as a

form of retaliation. This is the exact opposite of Dr. King’s approach towards the

situation in which they were facing. The Clergymen where in my opinion more

than likely writing more on behalf of “the African American people” and with legal

realism, one would act how they thought they should depending on what exactly

they were going through at that particular time in their life.