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Rhetorical Analysis Of Benjamin Banneker Letter

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In 1791, a son of former slaves by the name of Benjamin Banneker, wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson about his belief and standpoint on slavery with major rhetorical responses backing his standpoint up. Banneker starts off his letter and continues throughout it by stating “sir.” He does this knowingly as it is a sign of respect and the fact Jefferson has more authority than him, as Jefferson was the Secretary of State at the time under President George Washington, and hoping to have Jefferson and other high and powerful men consider his point of view. Predating back to the early 1700’s, slaves were merely legal property in the United States, meaning the slaves had no rights. Free black men and women had no rights either. As a result of this, sir and ma’am were often used during this time. This was just the beginning of Banneker’s letter. …show more content…

Banneker backs this up with another rhetorical device as he references the Bible. He uses Job, a man in the Bible who goes through much suffering, as an example as he quotes from Job, “put your souls in their souls [in]stead.” To put it simply, be a Mike Rowe and feel what it’s like to live in someone else’s life, especially during 1791. No voice to express ideas and opinions, no rights, and no

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He uses parallelism to make him sound very nice and calm. Furthermore, he says, “sir’ in the beginning of every paragraph. Banneker wants make Thomas Jefferson think his letter isn’t a straight argument about slavery. Banneker is just trying to inform him about slavery, not to argue heavily on it. Banneker saying “sir” makes Jefferson believe that even though he is being told his sins Banneker still has some respect for Jefferson.

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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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The letter was understandably harsh and severe, but Banneker does this in such a humble manner, that his opinion on slavery can not be argued by Jefferson. Jefferson absolutely has to accept what Banneker is saying because of how he portrayed, and wrote his letter. Banneker starts the letter off with referring to Jefferson as ‘Sir’, and does this in every paragraph to solidify and ensure that he is being polite while still getting his point across. This was to make Jefferson believe what Banneker was saying, to show Jefferson that he does have respect towards him and that he is taking this letter seriously so Jefferson should too. Banneker does this to help Jefferson believe that Banneker knows what he is talking about, that he is credible, so he can fix his moral dilemma, and help him make the choice toward ending

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In order for Banneker to display his knowledge, he uses “sir” in the beginning sentences in each paragraph. “Sir, suffer me to recall to your mind…”, Banneker uses “sir” several times to show his credibility. Since Thomas Jefferson was the framer of the Declaration of Independence, Banneker has to be intelligent in order to appeal to Jefferson. Also, by repeating “sir” in each paragraph, it allows Banneker to demonstrate his respect. Banneker has also repeated “you” many times referring to Jefferson.

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