Toulmin Model Argument

Question :

Write a Toulmin model argument based on your own original claims in response to the ideas from the assigned readings from this unit. You must quote at least three different authors from the list. Use these quotations to develop your own claims, not to summarize the readings. Each claim (topic sentence) must have multiple sources of quotations as supporting evidence (within the same body paragraph). The essay must be in MLA format, include in-text parenthetical citation (author-page form), and an MLA works cited page listing each source used. Minimum of 1,500 words, though there is no maximum as long as it follows the topic and assignment.

Answer :

Toulmin Model Argument

The Toulmin model of argument is one of the significant styles of argument that breaks an argument down into six components such as claim, grounds, warrant, qualifier, rebuttal, as well as backing. Every argument in the Toulmin method begins with three fundamental parts such as the claim, the ground, as well as the warrant (Hitchcock, 2017). The claim is referred to as the assertion that an author wants to prove to his or her audience and hence it is called the main argument. The ground represents the evidence and the fact that it is used to support the claim. On the other hand, the warrant is the assumption that is used to link the ground to the claim. Thus, the Toulmin method is one of the significant methods to develop an argument effectively. This essay has been developed to develop an argument including at least three authors.

The letter that was written from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. was focused on maintaining the momentum of the Birmingham campaign as well as the Civil Rights Movement. It was a powerful defense of the tactics, goals, and motivations of the Civil Rights Movement and Birmingham campaign. Martin Luther King Jr. highlighted the criticism that he along with his fellow activists were getting from outsiders. He responded to the criticism he got from outsiders in the letter. He and his fellow activists were blamed to be responsible for the trouble in the streets of Birmingham. His letter served as a reproducible as well as the tangible account of the long road to freedom in a movement that was significantly focused around spoken words and actions. He also mentioned why he was in Birmingham (Augustine, 2017). He also mentioned that he has the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The letter is one of the most powerful documents despite its hurried as well as a pragmatic origin that is now considered as a classical work of protest. The document was a cause that effectively stood against oppression, injustice, as well as sought freedom for everyone. Apart from this, the beliefs as well as struggles were evident in the writing of Martin Luther King. He used one of the significant approaches called a humble approach to affect and influence his audience. His approach helped him to get an audience from all over the world in order to advance his cause. His humble approach to reach mass people was very effective to motivate and encourage people to advance the Birmingham campaign as well as the Civil Rights Movement.

The Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx with the help of Friedrich Engels was first published by Karl Marx in 1848. It was the basis for the modern communist movement. The Communist Manifesto argued that capitalism would inevitably self-destruct and hence it was to be replaced by socialism and ultimately by communism. It was an analytical approach to the class struggle as well as the conflict of the capitalist mode of production and capitalism. It was not a prediction of the potential future forms of communism. In his manifesto, Karl Marx described how capitalist society of that time will eventually be replaced by a socialist society or socialism. The author also called in the last paragraph of the manifesto to the forcible overthrow of every social condition that is existing. This call served as a call for communist revolutions around the world. The manifesto is also memorable because it was written at the time of social as well as industrial change. Industrialized cities that were newly developed were expanding due to which a large number of people were moving to urban areas in search of work from the countryside (Zizek, 2019). The growth and development of an economy were significantly dependent on the moving (from the countryside to the urban areas) workforce. However, it is also important to consider that even after moving a large number of people from the countryside to urban areas in search of work, the majority of the workforces were living in the countryside in abject poverty as compared to the wealth of their employers. Karl Marx saw it as a complex and very tough series of class struggles. According to him, the complex series of class struggle would lead to the overthrow of the bourgeoisie by the proletariat unavoidably. The bourgeoisie is the ruling class whereas the proletariat is the working class. He argued to ensure equality among all in order to ensure social justice within society.

The civil disobedience written by Henry David Thoreau espouses the need to prioritize the conscience of an individual over the dictates of the law. The focus of civil disobedience was to criticize American policies as well as social institutions particularly Mexican-American war as well as slavery. According to Henry David Thoreau, the government of a country rarely proves itself useful. Apart from this, he also argued that the government gains power from the majority because the majority group is the strongest group and not because the majority group holds the most legitimate viewpoints. According to him, the first obligation of an individual is to do what he or she believes is right despite following the law that has been dictated by the majority group. It means that an individual should follow the moral principles instead of following the law that has been made by the government that gains power from the majority and does not prove itself useful all times (Thoreau, 2018). It also refers to a situation when the government is unjust, people must refuse the follow the law formulated by the government. He also appeals to people to distance themselves from the government in general when they found the government is unjust and, in this way, they can be civil disobedient to bring justice within the society. 

References 

Augustine, J. C. (2017). The Fiery Furnace, Civil Disobedience, & the Civil Rights Movement: A Biblical Exegesis on Daniel 3 & the Letter from Birmingham Jail. Rich. Pub. Int. L. Rev., 21, 243.

Hitchcock, D. (2017). Good reasoning on the Toulmin model. In On reasoning and argument (pp. 371-387). Springer, Cham.

Thoreau, H. D. (2018). Walden Civil Disobedience and Other Writings.

Zizek, S. (2019). The relevance of the communist manifesto. John Wiley & Sons.