"Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" were the powerful words that made the United States the "free country". Although this was the panorama given to the outside, what lay inside wasn’t exactly that. Benjamin Banneker, a former slave, wrote to Thomas Jefferson, framer of the Declaration of Independence and secretary of state to President George Washington. He argued against slavery with the wisdom of counteract. The allusions to the bible made the reader accountable not to the people, but to God. Banneker laid the foundation for the rest of the excerpt by establishing who the high authority was. He stated " present freedom and tranquility which you enjoy you have mercifully received and that is the pecular blessing of heaven." Although …show more content…
Yes, this was the case for some of the people, but on the other side of the river slaves were left to die in servitude. By creating an analogy between slavery and the battle against the British, Banneker made a statement that could not be declined. Nobody could change the past, and although they didn’t coincide in times, they instilled the guilt in Jefferson. How can you have fought for the independence of the New World, but not the independence of the slaves? As Banneker stated "that you should at the same time be found guilty of that most criminal act which you professedly detested in others with respect to yourselves." Jefferson proclaimed the "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" line, yet he didn’t act upon it. Banneker stated the obvious irony in Jefferson's words. What is the point of preaching something that the person themselves do not live up to? Yes, Jefferson fought for the Americans independence, but slaves were excluded. He himself still had them in his own home. Although Banneker did not fully approve of Jefferson's actions, he still respected him. When beginning a new paragraph, he would address Jefferson as "Sir". Banneker was an educated man and although the occasion was not a happy one he kept in whatever impoliteness he wished to