Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” while more aptly described as a response to criticism, is not written from a defensive position. While his letter more than aptly provides a workable defense of his actions in Birmingham, it serves more as a countercritical refutation that repudiates criticisms of his actions and criticizes the reasoning behind such criticisms. Dr. King uses the tools of denunciation used against him, such as claims of premature action and aggression, as both defense and offense, effectively dismissing any wrongdoing on his part and making clear the short-sighted nature of white moderates' reticence. What makes his criticism especially powerful, beyond his sound reasoning and open publication, is the medium between his logic and his audience's receptivity: his rhetoric. In his letter, King addresses accusations of civil disobedience and extremism and his encouragement to submit to quietism, but the way these aspects are presented by the opposition distorts King's actual position, proving to be the greatest threat to quietism's efforts. King. . King's ability to overcome these obstacles was not only through the use of logic, but through the use of rhetoric. King's response to concerns about his willingness to selectively obey and disobey laws can be summed up in his words: "there are just laws and there are unjust laws" (3). Expounding this, King explains that for a law to be intrinsically just, it must be intrinsically moral and, conversely, an unjust law is not in accord with the laws of morality. He elaborates by emphatically considering segregation laws as immoral, and therefore unjust, because, in his admission of glorifying a "race",... middle of paper... questioning the virtue of vapid judgment, and merit and effectiveness of the suspension. This article specifically examined his reaction to accusations of civil disobedience, extremism, and admonitions for quietism, and the impact his retaliation had on the goal of equality in America. While misrepresentation proves the opposition's most formidable tool, history, logic, and rhetoric serve as King's strongest allies, allowing him to transform his critics' weak arguments into a formidable bulwark. The letter's greatest impact on the public is King's disambiguation of fact from myth. The fact that his letter was widely publicized also proved invaluable to the cause. But beyond this, King's rhetoric leaves no room for opposition, only defense, leaving those who are at odds with his words on the side of immorality, injustice, and wickedness..