The State Of Virginia By Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson did not believe in racial equality, and thought that blacks were intellectually inferior. However in one of the most important documents in American history is the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson himself, he says ”We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by there creator...” Jefferson knew that his ownership of slaves contradicted his principles. What Jefferson wanted most was for slaves to one day be free, he wanted them to go back to Africa. He refused to grant freedom to his own slaves because of their significances to his wealth, but overall he condemned slavery.

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.

In 1791 Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, astronomer, and almanac author, wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson, in a courteous but forceful manner, challenging the framer of the Declaration of Independence and secretary of state on the topics of race and freedom. He touches on the topics of the way blacks were treated and seen by the common white American citizen and how it is an injustice. In his letter, Banneker uses ethos, logos, pathos, repetition, syntax, and juxtaposition to sympathize with Jefferson about former hardships to perhaps reach common ground.

Slavery is an evil seed, deeply rooted in our country’s history. Nowadays, many choose to ignore it or forget it, but one must admit to its existence and horror. This seed led to debates of fair vs. unfair, right vs. wrong, human vs. property. Consequently, one man sought out to express this horror and struggle that he had experienced first hand. Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, writes to the framer of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson in 1791. He speaks for “his brethren” and asks Jefferson to “wean yourself from those narrow prejudices which you have imbibed with respect to them [slaves].” This recommendation is supported by emotional appeals describing the extent of slavery, reflections of Jefferson’s

Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, constructed a letter regarding slavery and its primary effects, which is written to Thomas Jefferson during the early 1790s. Throughout this document Banneker’s ultimate goal was not to abolish slavery, but argue against the wrath slavery causes slaves. Throughout Banneker’s work he effectively uses several rhetorical strategies. Such as anaphora, allusions, and pathos over the course of his letter. In doing so, Banneker creates a provocative tone, which will leave an eternal impact not only on Jefferson but the reader.

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.

During the eighteenth century, a young America was fighting for the liberty, freedom, and equal rights while the second largest economy in America was the practice of slavery. While many middle-class Americans appreciated the values which were being fought for, they began to realize the stark contrast between the values which America was fighting for and the values which slavery supported. Some of these Americans, who wanted a say in the foundation of America, reached out to the founding fathers calling for change. One such American calling for change was Benjamin Banneker, a freed African-American slave who taught himself calculus as well as published his own almanac. Banneker, upset with the inferior description which Jefferson associates with African Americans, wrote a letter which argued against Jefferson’s claims through the implementation of various rhetorical strategies. By varying tones throughout the letter, providing accounts of personal experience as evidence, as well as using Jefferson’s own arguments against him, Banneker’s letter persuades Jefferson that his ideas about black inferiority are false; thus, black people should gain all of the rights which are entitled to white men accordingly.

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.

Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with slavery is a complex one. It is, perhaps, ironic to think that someone who owned slaves would be an advocate to end that very same practice. How can Jefferson be hailed as a champion for slave rights because of his opposition to slavery while, at the same time, using other people as property? Although somewhat contradictory at first, the nature of the relationship between Jefferson’s opinions and his attitudes towards slavery will be thoroughly examined in order to understand the means by which he helped fuel a revolution in the context of a society that was so dependent on slavery. In other words, Jefferson was a significant piece of the abolitionist movement, and so that the seeming differences between what he did and what he preaches can be understood, we must also analyze the historical context. By doing so, we find that Jefferson was indeed ahead of the times, although in his own unique way, and the reason why it might have been significant that he was a slaveowner while trying to end the practice.

John Locke was a Western philosopher who first published writings regarding natural rights; he laid these rights out to be life, liberty and property. Locke was one of the many 17th century Enlightenment thinkers who influenced people all over Europe and America. Such American Patriots, who were influenced by Locke, used his ideas to stake their claim of independence from Britain. Thomas Jefferson, a Patriot and founding father of America, applied Locke’s ideas of natural rights in his writing of the American Declaration of Independence and his argument against British control of the colonies. One oppressed group in America, the blacks, petitioned Jefferson to use his new position of power in the American government to promote equality in society. Benjamin Banneker, an educated free black living in Maryland, wrote Thomas Jefferson a letter in response to Jefferson’s Notes On The State of Virginia in which Jefferson states his beliefs concerning slavery and race inequality. By elevating Jefferson’s status, manipulating Jefferson’s own arguments and highlighting his own accomplishments, Banneker’s letter helps refute Jefferson’s claims of black inferiority and justification of slavery.

The philosophies of Thomas Jefferson are often at odds with one another. On one hand, he looks to enlightenment ideals and writes of natural rights and equalities for all men in his drafting of the Declaration of Independence (more on Jefferson’s and the Enlightenment can be found here). He also proposes legislature that prohibits the spread of slavery to new states. However, his role as a slave owner contradicts his philosophy on liberty in a profound way. His book Notes on the State of Virginia represents the depth of his thought against black people as an equal race to whites, and he includes a breakdown for the reasons that he believes integration is not a viable alternative to the problem of slavery (the full content can be read half way down the page here). Then, there are the facts surrounding his personal relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings and the children he fathered with her. This contradiction of attitude and philosophy is directly related to Jefferson’s cultural influences having grown up surrounded by slavery as an acceptable way of life. He ultimately falls back on society’s view of black people as inferior to justify his way of life, and calm his fears of the possible violent ramifications of emancipating his slaves (this is a reference to slave revolts). For more on this topic see my complete work here.

The man who started criticizing him as probably the writer Leonard Levy’s in his Book “Jefferson and Civil Liberties: The Darker Side”. In Chapter 14 “Hope and Heritage: Myth and Thomas Jefferson”, Gordon Wood really talks about Jefferson’s personal life. Thomas Jefferson is described as someone who had passion for partisan persecution, someone who didn’t care about the civil liberties, someone who thought he was morally perfect and used to judge people around him. In the chapter, they are comparing him to his friend James Madison. Thomas Jefferson wasn’t thinking about the country like Madison when he was taking decisions. While taking his decisions, he was mostly concerned about what his French friends would think of it than the needs of the American population. The main portion of Jefferson’s life, was his fight to abolish slavery. As it is written in this chapter, Thomas Jefferson hated slavery. He worked really hard to eradicate it in New Western territories. But apparently, he was never able to set all his slaves free. Many recent historians claimed that Jefferson’s acting toward Black people was very disgusting, revolting. Especially for someone who claimed that he wanted to eradicate slavery. During his life, he wanted to make sure that the eradication of slavery will be accompanied by the deportation of Back people of the country. For him, Black people living in a white’s man America was totally unbearable. He was “Racist”. In his

States rights were a thing that Jefferson was also very passionate about, as he believed that the central government was strictly meant to handle foreign affairs and that the states were able to govern themselves. Because of this, he strongly opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which he believed were a violation of states’ rights. In retaliation, he made the Kentucky Resolutions, limiting federal powers to what they were written in the Constitution. Although Jefferson was an avid supporter of common man, it seemed that he wasn’t as partial towards minority groups like Blacks and Native Americans. Jefferson owned slaves himself and had suggested removing Native Americans from their homes after the Louisiana Purchase.

Jefferson was cruel; he did not care for nobody but himself. “Jefferson also dodged opportunities to undermine slavery or promote racial equality. As a state legislator he blocked consideration of a law that might have eventually ended slavery in the state.” .” (Finkelman, Paul, “The Monster of Monticello”. The New York Times. N.p. Nov, 30 2012. Web. 25, February 2014) African Americans were having chances to become freed or to become equal to as other races, but Thomas Jefferson did things that interfered with the process of freeing slaves and at the end the laws did not passed because of his decision. In fact Jefferson thought of slaves pesticides. According to Finkelman, “Jefferson told his neighbor Edward Coles not

Thomas Jefferson is a man who really needs no introduction. He was recognized as a luminous writer who was appointed to draft the Declaration of Independence. Congress formally approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Jefferson owned many slaves that worked for him. He would often even sell his slaves to buy others. Why then would he write in the Declaration of Independence, “all men are created equal”? Is it possible that Thomas Jefferson was a hypocrite and only wrote what the population wanted to see? Did Thomas Jefferson enjoy owning slaves just as his other wealthy peers did? Neither one of those is true. Thomas Jefferson thought slavery was morally wrong and he thought that it should be abolished. We will take a