01.06 The free response Lafayette High SchoolIn the year 1791, Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson
addressing the injustice of slavery happening in the United States at that time.
Banneker states in hi
...
01.06 The free response Lafayette High SchoolIn the year 1791, Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson
addressing the injustice of slavery happening in the United States at that time.
Banneker states in his letter to Jefferson a reminder of the conditions the colonies were
in under the rule of Great Britain. Banneker then compares the horrors the colonies
were under to slavery and how the conditions of slavery were also horrendous.
Banneker uses this comparison as a way to hopefully convince Jefferson and other
supporters of slavery to attempt to relate with the slaves and their situations. With
Banneker trying to use this strategy, he wants to try to make Jefferson realize that
slavery is wrong and he should do his best to end slavery all together.
Banneker uses diction in his letter to Jefferson by presenting himself well and
trying to seem humble to make Jefferson realize how passionate Banneker is about the
situation addressed. When Banneker uses diction, he addresses Jefferson as “sir” and
uses the words “suffer me” to put himself in a position similar to the slaves. By using
this, Banneker doesn’t come off as defensive but comes off as sincere. Banneker’s
main argument is revolved around the analogy of slavery to the oppression of the
colonies under Great Britain’s rule. Banneker then continues to point out that all
Americans should understand the feeling that slaves go through and what they have to
experience. In the letter, Banneker proceeds to ask Jefferson to recall the “State of
Servitude” that the American people “to which you were exposed.” Banneker uses this
statement to compare slavery to the colonists’ oppression which they were under and
how they wanted freedom just like the slaves deserve as well. Banneker also writes
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