Benjamin Banneker Letter To Thomas Jefferson Allusion

In the second paragraph, Benjamin Banneker alludes to the Declaration of the Independence to note that Jefferson himself wrote “all men are created equal” and have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Banneker includes this detail to prove to the audience that Banneker is knowledgeable, and also point out the hypocrisy of the whites. The use of Jefferson’s own words against himself creates a slight shock from the audience, and urges a re-examination of themselves and the principles they claim to hold dearly. Banneker opens the third paragraph with several religious details that criticize Jefferson’s support for slavery. Banneker explains that while Jefferson is “fully convinced of the benevolence of the father” he “counteracts

Son of former slaves, farmer, astronomer, and author Benjamin Banneker in his letter to Thomas Jefferson in asserts that slavery is erroneous and should be discontinued. During this time period, slaves had no rights or freedom, slaves were property. Banneker was a slavery abolitionist, and wanted to help African Americans. Banneker adopts a respectful yet vexed tone in order to criticize and accuse Thomas Jefferson of being a hypocrite. Thomas Jefferson wrote the lines, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”, but he himself owned slaves, so this describes he did not want liberty for African American slaves. Banneker is offended and vexed, judging Jefferson as a hypocrite. Banneker achieves his purpose of judging Jefferson through his prominent use of diction.

“…With respect to them and as Job proposed to his friends, ‘put your souls in their souls instead’,” this comparison of Jefferson to a righteous man in the bible appeals and compliments him while influencing him in the direction Banneker wants him to think. He eases up on his argument when at the end of the expert he sates he doesn’t need Jefferson to find the end-all solution to the horrible institution of slavery, but only wants him to wean from the prejudices that have spawned from owning slaves.

Throughout Jefferson’s notes, Jefferson goes on to explain that he understands that the very concept of slavery goes against his philosophy in which he instilled into the Declaration of Independence. As one of the father of our nation, we the people should expect our leaders to uphold certain standards when it comes to human rights of their vary nation. To quote our fathering document, the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…” This however, brings up the point on whether or not Jefferson viewed the African slaves as “all men.” In the excerpt from his notes, Jefferson discusses that he believes that slavery should not exist but he also believed that once a slave is free, he or she can no longer live in the same society as one who which they have slaved for.

Banneker continues to use Jefferson’s piece by referring Jefferson’s words that, the rights which all humans have are bestowed on them by God. Banker argues that slavery counteracts God’s mercies “in detaining my brethren under groaning captivity”. He goes on to say that Jefferson “should cut the same time be found guilty of that most criminal act which you professedly detested in others with respect to yourselves”. These lines reiterate the fact that Jefferson is once agin employing hypocrisy. He writes that God has bestowed rights upon all humans which cannot be taken away but Jefferson attempt to take them away through the act of slavery. Banneker states that the the base upon which america is built upon is the thing they are found guilty of disregarding.

The letter does a wonderful job of including allusions in the text in order to get Jefferson thinking about the past and his past experience. Banneker asks Jefferson to recall when the British “enslaved” the colonists and how that made him feel in an effort to make Jefferson imagine how Banneker must feel. Banneker also alludes to the Declaration of Independence, which Jefferson wrote, in order to use his own words to point out his hypocrisy.

First, Benjamin Banneker reasons African Americans are equal to white men in order to argue that slavery is morally wrong. For example, through the repetition of the word the ‘Sir’, Banneker not only shows respect towards Thomas Jefferson, but portrays himself as someone knowledgeable. This helps Banneker argue that is slavery is morally wrong because it shatters the notion of African Americans being inferior to white people due to Banneker, who is an African American, writing a letter in a dignified manner. Also, it helps the argument by appealing to Thomas Jefferson’s ego and sense of worth. The repetition of ‘sir’ makes it more difficult for Jefferson to become angry at Banneker for being insolent because it doesn’t antagonize Jefferson, but recognizes the difference in authority and position between Banneker and Jefferson while showing that Banneker himself, who is an African American, is capable and educated. Through sentences “… you have mercifully received and that is the peculiar blessing of heaven”, “blessings to which you were entitled by nature”, and “… benevolence of the Father of mankind and of equal and impartial distribution of those right…” Mr. Banneker appeals to Jefferson through religion. This religious appeal aids the argument that slavery is wrong because it works as the premise to a syllogism; God has made all men equal, African Americans and white people are men, so they are equal. For Jefferson to dispute this argument, he would have to defy the premise of his own Declaration of Independence (“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are create equal…”) which would mean the loss of the justification Americans had to declare independence from Great Britain. Also, Banneker speaks to Jefferson’s own values as a religious man by arguing that he is opposing God’s goodwill in the

In the article, Jefferson initially shows a concern for the African Americans. He expresses emancipating the slaves. He also suggested sending them to another country. Jefferson speaks on how all men are created equal and how slavery is not right.

Banneker’s letter to Jefferson is filled with examples of appeals to logic and ethics. Banneker wants Jefferson to see that by keeping slavery legal he is going against everything that he fought for in the American Revolution. Banneker cleverly uses Jefferson’s own words from the Declaration of Independence against him when he quotes this phrase: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life,

By varying tones used throughout the letter, Banneker’s letter keeps Jefferson intrigued with what Banneker has to say, thus further developing the argument which Banneker is making. The tone which Banneker uses at the beginning of his essay is much more respectful,

Also, Mr. Banneker used pathos to help argue against slavery, he appealed to Mr. Jefferson’s ego. When Benjamin Banneker was talking about the Declaration of Independence he referred to it as a “valuable doctrine… remembered in all succeeding ages”, this appeals to Thomas Jefferson because he was the principal author of it. Now he has caught Thomas Jefferson attention and has shown his respect towards him and his work. Not only has he shown his respect towards him but Mr. Jefferson can see that they agree on the same concept even if it’s not on the same page. He also used pathos, when reminding Mr.Jefferson about the time the U.S was under British rule. He did this to make a connection between slaves and colonists, he reminds him that they too had no freedom and had little hope of escaping the British crown. All of this helps

Benjamin Banneker was a man who felt very strongly about slavery, considering his parents were former slaves. He wrote a well-composed letter to Thomas Jefferson, who was the framer of the Declaration of Independence and secretary of state to the President of the United States, George Washington. He compiled his thoughts, along with reasons why Jefferson should help to abolish slavery. Through referencing Jefferson’s past work, using the bible as a reference, and maintaining a friendly, but firm tone, Banneker was effectively able to argue against slavery in his letter to Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson was educated under a doctrine that sought to perpetuate the slaves’ place in society as inferior. He argues that “the whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading subjugation on the other. Our children see this, and learn to imitate it: for man is an imitative animal.”

The letter from Banneker to Jefferson integrates extremely knowledgeable and formal diction in contention against the issue of slavery. The advanced level of language introduced by Banneker is another contributing component to his believability on his position against subjugation. A few great instances of Banneker's diction are in the words "abhorrence" in line 18, "benevolence" in line 32, and the phrase "professedly detested" in line 40, all of these showing the great knowledge that he carries. Banneker’s education has the potential to prove to Jefferson that black people can be on the same level as white people despite being put below white people as their slaves. In the second paragraph of his writing, Benjamin uses his knowledge of the time period when the United States was under British rule, inviting Jefferson to recall the "injustice" and the "horrors of its condition”. In doing so, he compares this to the slavery of black people during his own current state of life. In lines 35-38 of Banneker’s letter, it is stated, "that you should at the same time counteract his (God's) mercies in detaining by fraud and violence so numerous a part of

It is said that slavery is a stain on our country’s past. The topic of slavery was and still is a controversy in which equality is a struggle to obtain. However, what occurred in the past created the nation that lives on today. Benjamin Banneker was one man who stood out in the efforts to end slavery. He did so in writing a strongly worded letter to Thomas Jefferson that exclaimed his opinions and feelings. Banneker used an appeal to pathos, repetition, and religious appeals to argue against slavery.