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Who Is Benjamin Banneker Letter To Thomas Jefferson

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Hypocrisy is one of the worst moral crimes someone can commit. In a letter addressed to Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Banneker explains that Jefferson is the prime adversary in allowing the unjust crime of slavery to sustain itself by him continuing to act in a hypocritical manner. Banneker, through the use of showing respect through the means of referring to Jefferson as ‘Sir’, quoting his own words to show hypocrisy, and strong perturbing diction to enforce guilt, strives to prove Jefferson’s moral flaw and persuade him to change his ways. Banneker begins to persuade Jefferson by continually referring to him as ‘Sir’, which shows respect toward Jefferson, and because of this, Jefferson is forced to accept the ideas Banneker is explaining. 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 not only make Jefferson believe what Banneker was saying, but to also show Jefferson that he does have respect towards him. To show just how serious he is taking …show more content…

Banneker quotes Jefferson’s words, verbatim,“ We hold truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal…” and that everyone has “certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”. Banneker is calling Jefferson out by pointing out his moral flaw. The flaw being how Jefferson stated that he believes everyone to be equal in nature; that all people have the right to liberty and to live a life in which it is joyful. By doing this, he is showing Jefferson that he has no excuse for allowing slavery to continue. He is giving prime evidence of Jefferson’s hypocritical crime, by reminding him of his morally right and unalienable equality, that he has gone back

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Benjamin Banneker earnestly attempts to persuade Thomas Jefferson, former slave owner, the wrongness of slavery by using his sense of morality and reasoning against him. Banneker brings to light Jefferson’s views and to set the foundation to take his argument further. He refers to the Revolutionary War in line 2, "...arms and tyranny of the British Crown..." and explains the British Crown and indirectly refers to their ruling of the colonies. The word he most significantly used was ‘tyranny’ which sums up the rule of the British Crown in the colonists eyes. He uses the Revolutionary War and its impact on the colonies to further deepen the argument on his next point, without this clarification what he said next wouldn't have made any

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1. What type of document is it? What is the title of the document? The type of document is a letter, titled Banneker 's Letter to Jefferson.

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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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In the letter to Thomas Jefferson from Benjamin Banneker, it is evident that Banneker uses the rhetorical strategies of humility, religious references, and historical references to create a foundation for a rational and favorable argument against slavery. Banneker is clearly a well-educated man with a background of respectable talents (“…farmer, astronomer, mathematician…” etc.). However, he does not allow his knowledge to condescend towards the white man to whom he is writing. Banneker’s humility is a rhetorical device that contributes to the argument against slavery. Never in the letter does Banneker refer to Jefferson by name.

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Through the 1790's and prior, The United States developed a systematic racism through slavery. Benjamin Banneker, an educated man, son of a freed slave, drafted a letter to Thomas Jefferson, writer of the Declaration of Independence. Banneker composed this letter to prompt Jefferson to take a strong stance against slavery so that slavery may eventually end. His letter courteously questions Jefferson's validity of the statement “all men are created equal” within the Declaration of Independence by calling to question the institution of slavery. Banneker uses repetition to reinforce a formal and respectful tone, utilizes strong and emotional diction, and concludes with a biblical allusion.

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954 Words | 4 Pages

Jefferson was enslaved by Great Britain, now he lacks empathy for those without their rights. Banneker with an accusatory tone declares, “You should be found guilty of that most criminal act which you professedly detested in others.” Jefferson could not be relied upon considering he went against his word. Benjamin Banneker is questioning Jefferson’s credibility as one of the writers of the Declaration of Independence. He created these laws for the land but have yet to enforce any of them for those who are considered

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Benjamin Banneker, in his letter to Thomas Jefferson, offers a series of arguments against the institution of slavery through a respectful tone, references to history, and the Bible. As a son of former slaves, Banneker is seeking justice for the black population and uses Jefferson’s own words against him as he speaks on behalf of “Black America.” He shares his opinions with Jefferson, who is higher authority, in a respectful manner while still managing to criticize him. Banneker starts off his letter to Jefferson by calling his “Sir.” He refers to Jefferson this way because he wants to be respectful to this man who exists as a higher authority as a politician.

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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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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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In Benjamin Banneker's letter to Thomas Jefferson, he develops his argument against slavery through historical allusions and emotional appeals in order to persuade Thomas Jefferson about the injustice of slavery. Firstly, Benjamin Banneker uses historical and biblical appeals to help convey his purpose of the injustice of slavery to Thomas Jefferson. Banneker makes an allusion to the invasion of the British colonies in America to offer a comparison to slavery. Banneker asks Jefferson to recall the time and reflect on that time “in which every human aid appeared unavailable”. In hopes he was able to involve guilt in Jefferson as while slavery was happening he enjoyed the “freedom and tranquility” that received a “peculiar bussing of Heaven”.

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853 Words | 4 Pages

•“She was not even listening. She had gotten tired of listening. She knew, as we all knew, what the outcome would be. A white man had been killed during a robbery, and thought two of the robbers had been killed on the spot, one had been captured, and he, too, would have to die” (4). This quote is important because it allows me to understand that Jefferson has to die because he was the only person in the liquor store and was a black man.

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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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518 Words | 3 Pages

Back in ancient time when humans had not developed language, our ancestors used shapes, lines and sounds to create meaningful drawings as a form of language to communicate with each other. Not until civilization had began and language was developed, people began to use words to describe the place where we live in. With the power of written language, humans have been able to document all the finite details of the world around us from the description of a species to an extent of the history of a tribe. Along with this, Classification has its important values to human as well. This is known as a process to help identify and classify something according to its quality and characteristics.

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“The Constitution and Slavery” pointed this out by stating that “Yet at the time these words were written, more than 500,000 black Americans were slaves. Jefferson himself owned more than 100.” This shows that even though Jefferson insisted on the idea of “all men are created equal,” some can say that he is a hypocrite. “How could somebody make such a statement while they are doing the same devilish act?” must have gone through the minds of those questioning Jefferson’s sincerity. Indeed, he did commit those acts.

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