Thomas Jefferson And John Locke

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

This is to keep Jefferson in a calm state instead of simply infuriating him. Although Banneker is offended, he keeps his maturity level high. Also, He uses words such as entreat, dangers, exposed, hope, fortitude, inability, abhorrence to maintain his credibility as a professionalist while still keeping the sense of his disagreement of slavery. This makes Jefferson feel as if he is the one who is incorrect, since Banneker is an intellectual writer, and makes him think over his current actions. Then, Banneker’s tone shifts into more emotional and passionate toward his argument of abolishing slavery. Banneker uses words such as liberty, nature, benevolence, mercies, fraud, violence, captivity, cruel, oppression, criminal, detested which causes a powerful effect. Banneker refers to

The repetition of the word “sir” at the beginning of each paragraph in his letter also holds a great weight on Benjamin Banneker’s decision to address Jefferson with his plea. It shows ethos, that he understands his position in comparison to Jefferson and is spoken out of respect. His risky gesture was carefully thought out, shown in the syntax of his sentences, long and carefully attacking the points he means to address. His well-formed sentences disprove the ideas that African Americans are all illiterate and incapable. Throughout the letter strong words such as fortitude, providential, and abhorrence justify that the letter is worth Jefferson’s time, not disdain. Continuously repeating “sir and his suggestions that his own achievements as a freedmen were a contradiction of Jefferson’s belief that blacks lacked intellectual ability and proof of what they could achieve when they were not tied down by slavery. Just like the writing of Fredrick Douglas, his

Banneker uses allusions throughout his letter to persuade Jefferson to empathize with the slaves and have more compassion towards their struggle. This includes in lines 6 and 7, when Banneker points out, “you cannot but acknowledge that the present freedom

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.

Thomas Jefferson and John Locke share many similarities in their two writings. In this essay there will make a connection between the two and take a look at how Jefferson may have been or was inspired by John Locke with The Declaration of independence. Two of the main points will be the government's role in the rights of people and what those rights are.

Both John Locke and Thomas Jefferson believe that people have certain natural rights and that it is the government’s job to protect these rights. Their documents were both written for revolutions, although they were two very different revolutions. Ultimately, a revolution in Europe influenced Locke to write the Second Treatise on Government. The Second Treatise on Government was important because it influenced the way many later philosophers would view government. One philosopher influenced by Locke was Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence used the same philosophy as Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, but it also held great significance in that it was the first time a group of colonies had successfully separated from a world power like Great Britain.

Many of John Locke’s ideas were input into the Declaration of Independence, as his primary words “life, liberty” and instead of property, the pursuit of happiness, are the basis of the American Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Locke’s arguments concerning liberty influenced the works of James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, as his Second Treatise is imitated in the Declaration of Independence. When the founding fathers adopted the resolution for the nation’s

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

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,

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

When one is called “sir” multiple times in one sitting, it seems as they are being addressed in a strict way, as if the speaker wants something to be done. By calling Jefferson this many times, Banneker is able to show that he knows what he is talking about, and he wants his goal to be achieved. Although he is firm throughout much of the letter, he also acts friendly towards Jefferson. In the closing paragraph, he gives him advice, just how an individual would give their friend advice. He says, “... thus shall your hearts be enlarged with kindness and benevolence towards them, and thus shall you need neither the direction of myself or others, in what manner to proceed herein”. If Banneker was to solely be rigid in his letter, Jefferson might not want to listen because he thinks Banneker is too demanding. But since Banneker stays calm and seems to be peaceful, Jefferson will want to listen. This method helps Jefferson realize that Banneker is serious and knows what he wants, but in a kind

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.

Benjamin Franklin and John Winthrop, men with different ideals, present the same notion that America should be presented as a “city upon a hill.” Franklin believed that the American dream should be presented as an ideal where men and women are equal and can both move up in social class on their own, practicing any religion they desired. On the other hand, Winthrop believed that the new world was a religious safe haven only for the Puritans. American Exceptionalism was overall the main focus, guiding America to define itself as a special nation founded upon democratic values and liberty.