Banneker's Letter to Jefferson Term Paper

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Benjamin Banneker, a free, educated African-American, was a man of letters, a man of science, and a man of convictions. It is therefore not surprising -- at least in contemporary thought and practice -- that such a man would write a letter to Thomas Jefferson who was, at the time, Secretary of State.

The date of the letter was August 19, 1791, and coincided with the completion of Banneker's annual almanac, at that time on its way to the printer for pre-1792 release. What is was specifically, however, that impelled Banneker to write at that moment can only be guessed at: that there was an external impetus, as well as Banneker's status as a free African-American cognizant of the suffering of his people, can be inferred from the early part of his letter. Banneker writes:

I hope I may safely admit, in consequence of that report which hath reached me, that you are a man far less inflexible in sentiment of this nature, than many others; that you are measurably friendly, and well disposed towards us; and that you are willing and read to lend your aid and assistance to our relief, from those many distresses, and numerous calamities, to which we are reduced (Banneker 1791).

What has Banneker heard? Is it some evil action of another of the Founding Fathers regarding slaves that has reached his ears? Or alternatively, has he discovered that the otherwise high-minded Jefferson himself owns slaves? It the latter, then Banneker is being truly clever when he uses Jefferson's much-heralded high-mindedness as the very excuse for his writing the letter, or at least, the intellectual excuse. The physical excuse is the desire to send Jefferson a copy of the almanac; that this was to convince Jefferson of the intellectual capacity of an African-American can certainly be supposed.

The next brilliant use of rhetoric Banneker makes is in assuming that of course Jefferson would agree -- does agree -- with the concept that African-Americans, as Banneker noted at the outset, are not the brutes much of the population assumes them to be, but are, instead, being capable of the same sorts of mental endowments as European-Americans.

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Banneker further cleverly ascribes to himself and to Jefferson the same belief system, namely that "one universal Father hath given being to us all; and that he hath not only made us all of one flesh, but that he hat also, without partiality, afforded us all the same sensations and endowed us all with the same faculties ...." (Banneker 1791).

This would have been, at the time, a substantial leap of faith on Banneker's part; while certainly Jefferson was kind toward his own slaves, most European-Americans did consider slaves not quite on the same plane of 'sentiment' and 'faculties' as they themselves. To propose that Jefferson's viewpoint was more enlightened meant either that Banneker had come across some information supporting that belief, or, and probably more likely, Banneker was using a rhetorical device. Banneker wanted to gain Jefferson's agreement with the concept that African-Americans were equal to European-Americans in every way. To gain that agreement, he first constructed the logical argument leading to that conclusion, flattered Jefferson's intellect and good will, and then assumed that of course, Jefferson would concur. Jefferson could not, in fact, fail to concur at that point without seeming inconsistent in his own beliefs, considering the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, both of which expressed Jefferson's beliefs, or else he had been party to potentially lethal dissent for no logical or ethical purpose. Banneker doubtless assumed that Jefferson would not wish to appear, even to himself, to be either a liar or a fool.

Banneker's appeal….....

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