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Rhetorical Analysis Of Benjamin Banneker

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America. The land of the free. Of the equal. This was not always a true statement. While America claimed that all people were equal, black men and women were working for white families all over the place. They had not yet won their freedom or equality. Slavery would need to be abolished first. Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson about this very dilemma. Banneker, always remaining respectful and aggressive, argues against slavery by using many rhetorical devices throughout his letter.
“…all men are created equal...” Banneker quotes Jefferson’s own words back to him. Banneker shows Jefferson that he is being highly hypocritical. How can a nation possibly have all men equal if the people advocating for equality do not even abide by their own words? The words of the Declaration of Independence. As once said by Alexander Theroux “Hypocrisy is the essence of snobbery, but all snobbery is about the problem of belonging.” Jefferson conformed to a society of slavery. Banneker wastes no time in calling him out. “…you should at the same time counteract his mercies…” Our creator granted us all with …show more content…

Banneker acknowledges that Jefferson is “fully convinced of the benevolence of the Father” and the freedom and tranquility that Jefferson has acquired “…you have mercifully received and that it is the pecular blessing of Heaven.” Banneker endeavors to use religion to make a connection with Jefferson. By doing so, he creates an atmosphere of understanding in the letter. The knowledge connects the two people and proves that Banneker and Jefferson have no different views. However, saying “…you should at the same time counteract his mercies…” also shines a different light on Jefferson in this aspect. Is he not displaying Jefferson’s sins? This well-educated man, the same one that is the son of former slaves, is calling Jefferson out for his sins. What sane person would commit such an

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He shows the politeness to allow Jefferson to note that race does not make one inferior and that Banneker thinks of him as an equal. By stroking Jefferson’s ego and showing him respect continually allows Banneker to have a more educated conversation with

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Benjamin Banneker Letter

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The speaker, Benjamin Banneker, in his letter, describes the situation of the slaves and argues why he opposes it. Banneker’s purpose is to argue that slaves need their natural rights and liberties just like any other human because they are equal. During that time in the 1790’s there were many rural and urban slaves working in plantations and farms as field labors, maids, etc. They didn’t have any fair treatment or were paid, instead they were treated like animals without liberties. He adopts a disturbed tone in order to describe the horrendous treatment the slaves received to prove and discuss that to Jefferson.

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter By Benjamin Banneker

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As the son of two former slaves, Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson to end slavery in the United States. The letter was written in 1791 and argues that his “brethren” need to be freed just like Jefferson and the other founding fathers envisioned for the rest of the country. Banneker shows that he will provide any argument, and expose every angle he possibly can to extinguish slavery. He uses a plethora of rhetorical devices to achieve this goal, such as allusion and analogy.

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter By Benjamin Banneker

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Son of former slaves, Benjamin Banneker, writes a letter in between the revolution and civil war about the unjust act of slavery. Banneker tries to identify that slavery is unjust. He uses his confident harsh tone towards Thomas Jefferson to elaborate that slavery is wrong and Jefferson knows it in a confident but insulting way. Banneker, in his first paragraph of his letter, compares how slaves feel is similar to how americans felt under the cruel british control. He shows this similarity by stating, “reflect on a time when every human aid seemed unavailable.”

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One of the historical references he makes is quoting a section from the Declaration of Independence. He quotes the beginning of the Declaration of Independence when it mentions that “All men are created equal” and that men have unalienable rights, which are “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” He tells Jefferson that the black men and women of America are not given these rights. They are not given the right to life because they are slaves. They are not given the right to liberty because they are slaves.

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Benjamin Banneker, son of former slaves, wrote to Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, in attempt to argue against slavery to achieve a solution. Jefferson and Washington were the secretary of state, and the President of the United States at the time, so in order to convince them Banneker has to be very persuasive so that they can even consider his proposition. Banneker uses three main tactics to try and persuade Jefferson and Washington, these tactics are: Comparing Jefferson’s and Washington’s experiences to his own and trying to find a common link for them to understand and identify themselves with, appealing to common sense, and he leaves room open to interpretation and lets Washington and Jefferson the ability to decide what to do about the problem. Banneker uses comparisons to find a common link with his audience, this tactic can be effective if used properly with relevant examples. What Banneker does is that he uses specific examples to compare, one of the examples he uses, is the American Revolution; He compares slavery to the lack of freedom that the U.S had when they were a British colony.

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In 1791, Thomas Jefferson was secretary of state and Banneker considered the respected Virginian, though a slaveholder, to also be open to viewing African Americans as more than slaves. Thus, he wrote Jefferson a letter hoping that he would “readily embrace every opportunity to eradicate that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions which so generally prevail with respect to us." To further support his point, Banneker included a handwritten manuscript of an almanac for 1792, containing his astronomical calculations. In his letter, Banneker acknowledged he was “of the African race” and a free man. He recognized that he was taking “a liberty” writing to Jefferson, which would be unacceptable considering “the almost general prejudice and prepossession which is so prevalent in the world against those of my complexion.”

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Banneker appeals to ethos to help his arguments. He uses great vocabulary and makes no mistakes in his letter. Furthermore, Banneker says the words, “Tranquility, benevolence, and entreat.” Banneker is using high vocabulary to make Thomas Jefferson acknowledge his argument no full of foul

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Slavery is a very harsh system in which, people are treated as property rather than actual human beings. Benjamin Banneker was not only a former, but a great thinker and an author. In 1791, Banneker wrote to Thomas Jefferson to discuss his views on slavery. In his letter, Banneker used emotional diction, tone, and allusion to argue his point that slavery is unjust and should be abolished.

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The quote also appeals to Jefferson’s emotions because Banneker makes him feel guilty about slavery. Jefferson

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Hypocrisy is one of the worst moral crimes someone can commit. Benjamin Banneker's letter to Thomas Jefferson explains that he has committed this crime. He has gone back on his morale of everyone having unalienable rights by letting slavery continue to happen, and Banneker believes he is the prime contender in allowing this crime to happen and that he should be the start and make the move to stop slavery. Banneker explains this to Jefferson in such a way that the letter is both respectful and thoughtful while also being rude due to the use of how he phrases his sentences, that his argument can not be questioned because of his use of ‘Sir’ to show his respect, and his ardent choice of words which are all collectively used to explain how Jefferson is being hypocritical and show him why he should fix this.

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" 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.

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Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson to argue against slavery. Banneker was an educated man, he was an astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, author, and farmer, yet, Jefferson had not known this information. Banneker makes his argument through the use of allusion, diction, and repetition, which causes Banneker to seem reliable and have intelligence. To remind Jefferson of his own subjugation, Banneker alludes to the British Crown. “..British Crown were exerted with every powerful effort in order to reduce you to a State of Servitude.”

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