Once a man has the reason, the method and the courage to act against injustices, reform will occur spontaneously. This reform occurs spontaneously at the appropriate time and cannot be forced or suppressed. Reformers and authorities alike must understand that reform begins with individuals and cannot be controlled by the general. The individual must not blindly follow others but reform himself on his own behalf. Thoreau explicitly mentioned this idea in his essay, stating that the individual is powerless when he compromises the majority. He wrote: “A minority is powerless as long as it conforms to the majority; it is therefore not even a minority; but it is irresistible when it becomes blocked with all its weight. (Thoreau 845). The first two sentences indicate that the individual should not comply. If the minority compromises, follows the majority's orders, and accepts the majority's values, that minority is cultivated by the majority and becomes part of the majority. This is why Thoreau called the compromised minority not even a “minority.” The first two sentences are aimed at reformers, telling them not to give up in the face of the majority; the last sentence is addressed to the authorities, warning them of the irresistible nature of the reform. The last sentence describes what will happen once the individual begins to reform. Although the majority can cultivate the minority, the minority can also resist the majority once it has exerted all its efforts. Likewise, Dr. King sent his letter to tell moderates that reform would eventually happen. Dr. King wrote this in his letter: “One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat at the lunch counter, they were actually standing for what was best on paper. .....my from the inside. For the authorities, Dr. King persuaded them that the civil rights movement was irresistible because it was based on the need for justice of each individual. It is determined by the transcendental theme of reform which is irresistible. The transcendental theme is presented throughout this letter, and this can be evidenced by the ideas behind his quote. Since these transcendental themes are proposed by Emerson and Thoreau and can be verified by the ideas contained in their essays, there is enough evidence to conclude that Dr. King is indeed influenced by Emerson and Thoreau. Works Cited Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Self-sufficiency”. The Norton Anthology of American Literature 2003: 842, 839. Thoreau, Henry David. "Civil disobedience." The Norton Anthology of American Literature 2003: 544, 553. King, Martin Luther Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” » Why we can't wait 1963: 77-100.