| Since the days the black people boarded on the new land, they have for generations been struggling to get rid of the bondage and discrimination. In a sense, the black struggle for freedom started as soon as the blacks were sold to the land of America. It became widespread during 1950s and 1960s. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. During the Civil Rights Movement, King captured the attention of the nation with his philosophy and commitment to the method of nonviolent resistance. According to Dr. King, nonviolence was the only solution to the society's evil. His nonviolent approach to social reform and political activism is characterized by mass marches and large gatherings designed to demonstrate both the widespread acceptance of the tenets of civil rights and the barbarism of those who opposed them. It was King's philosophy of nonviolence that made the Civil Rights Movement successful and progressive. Thus it is necessary to investigate King's philosophy of nonviolence, especially the major influences on his conversion to militant nonviolence.The present thesis endeavors to focus on his philosophy of nonviolence and explores the process of the shaping the philosophy.Generally speaking, King did not accept nonviolence by accident. In the thesis, the author presents four major specific influences that had molded his conviction and led him to become a champion of militant nonviolence in temporal order. The first influence is first in time, that is, the family influence. Martin Luther King Senior, King's father, was a priest. His idea about discrimination and his faith have a great effect on King Junior. As time went on, the second major influence which shaped King's thinking is the educational and intellectual benefits. In King's short life, especially during his education, he came across Thoreau, Niebuhr, Hegel and other intellectuals, whose philosophies and ideas had a deep effect on his own thought. It can be said that the second influence provides King with essential theoretical support. The third major influence on King is his personal experience after graduation and being a priest. This influence includes both the experiences when he preached and the experiences when he led Civil Rights Movement. These experiences confirmed King's trust in the power of nonviolence and the possibility to carry out nonviolence in Civil Rights Movement. From then on, King became a more determined follower of nonviolent philosophy. The fourth origin of his philosophy of nonviolence is Gandhi's inspirational idea of nonviolent struggle, which shaped King's mind and heart. It is also the influence which sheds the most light upon his commitment to nonviolence. During King's visit to India, he was deeply magnetized by Gandhi's success in India with the guide of nonviolence and thus he seemed to find a way to solve the black problem in American. After coming back to his country, King went on with the nonviolent idea and took part in Civil Rights Movement actively.The thesis is organized as follows:Chapter 1 is the Introduction. Firstly the author explains the formulation of the thesis, and then describes the domestic and international achievements related to the same field by other scholars. Apart from selecting purpose and literature review, the author presents to the readers the significance of the thesis. Chapter 2 deals with the background information on Martin Luther King and introduces King's understanding of militant nonviolence. Chapter 3 expounds the significance of his philosophy of nonviolence in Civil Rights Movement. Chapter 4 probes into the first influence on King, that is, family influence on his choosing nonviolent philosophy. Chapter 5 discusses the educational and intellectual influence on King's nonviolent choice. Chapter 6 explores King's personal experiences as a priest during his choosing nonviolence. Chapter 7 delves King's inspirational influence on his nonviolence. Chapter 8 is the conclusion.
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