Differences Between Banneker's Views On Colonial Unity And Slavery

Improved Essays
Short-Answer Banneker believed that Jefferson was being a hypocrite. Jefferson wrote “all men are created equal,” but still allowed slavery to persist in the United States.
Benjamin Franklin would question Banneker’s view. Benjamin Franklin was a strong advocate for colonial unity, and slavery was an issue that would have prevented colonial unity had it been abolished. So, therefore, Benjamin Franklin would view the issue of slavery as less important than the issue of colonial unity, which was weak at the time. Jefferson would have agreed with Banneker’s argument that slavery must not be continued in the United States. However, Jefferson would have believed that the nation was still too reliant on slaves in their economy for it to be abolished and that it was simply not an ideal time for them to abolish slavery because the unity of the colonies was just freshly acquired and agreed to. Even then, there were still problems each colony
…show more content…
He believes that men are answerable for any publication of false accounts, and allowing them to think that they are not will end in disaster.
Albert Gallatin believes that the Sedition Act is designed to keep a certain party in power and allow them to oppress the other. He believes that there should be no restriction on the circulation of opinion.
In the Peter Zenger trial, he was accused of printing libel, in which he criticized the British government. In Gallatin’s argument, he believes there should be freedom of the press. The Peter Zenger trial scored a huge victory towards acquiring freedom of the press and allowing colonists to circulate their opinions about the British government. As seen during the American Revolution, freedom of the press was essential when combating the British. Since the Zenger trial was a move towards freedom of the press, it supports Gallatin’s argument that there should be freedom the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Bailyn talks about how he thinks America wanted to get away from England’s rule because they were trying to enslave the colonies by putting all these taxa and stamp act on them and he believed that God would provide them protection during this process. A document that helps support Bailyn’s enslavement idea is written by Charles Thomson, a Philadelphian young schoolmaster, in complaints about the taxation put upon the colonies. He writes, “The very nature of freedom supposes that no tax can be levied on a people without their consent given personally or by their representatives.” Another document written by Thomas Jefferson wrote to the delegates at a Continental Congress asking for America’s rights supports Bailyn’s idea. The document said, “[he is] begging leave to lay before him, as chief magistrate of the British empire, the united complaints of his majesty’s subjects in America; complaints which are excited by many unwarrantable encroachments and usurpations, attempted to be made by the legislature of one part of the empire, upon those rights which God and the laws have given equally and independently to all.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Thomas Jefferson owns hundreds of slaves whilst living in the “land of the free”, which was indeed partially created due to his efforts in writing the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Banneker also lives in the United States at this time and points out Jefferson’s hypocrisy in doing so. Banneker utilizes many rhetorical strategies, including logical appeals, emotional appeals to nostalgia, and religious references, in order to convey his opinion that slavery is immoral and that Jefferson, as a founding father, is a hypocrite for his involvement in the slave trade. In his first paragraph, Banneker illustrates an image of a time when Jefferson and his fellow neighbors were ruled by the tyrannous British.…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Benjamin Banneker being that he is a son of a former slave has a strong stance on the negativity of slavery. He writes to the then secretary of state Thomas Jefferson, challenging Jefferson to debate racial equality on the accounts of moral grounds. Banneker effectively argues that not only is slavery contradictory of American ideals established in the past by Jefferson, but a violation of christian morals in his overall goal to persuade Thomas Jefferson that slaves should be freed through the use of rhetorical strategies that appeal to Jefferson 's ethics and morals in the letter Banneker wrote to him in 1791. Banneker leads into a pleas with utmost respect to Jefferson to have a more compliant to his upcoming demands. The author uses the…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Benjamin Banneker utilized the Aristotelian appeal of pathos throughout his letter to elicit guilt from Thomas Jefferson. By causing him to see the juxtaposition between his famously stated ideals of equality and the way he was living his life, Banneker hoped to persuade Jefferson to initiate a change in the ubiquitous practice of slavery. His most effective use of the rhetorical strategy was through a quote from the Declaration of Independence, a text that Jefferson himself had written only a few years prior. Banneker cited, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” In 1791, it was evident that not all men were created as equally as Thomas Jefferson had claimed in the Declaration.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, former farmer, astronomer, and mathematician writes to Jefferson regrading to the worriment on slavery; in the excerpt, Banneker uses diction, allusion and appeals to Jefferson, adding more credibility to his concerns. Banneker integrates well educated and high diction in regards to his concerns on slavery. This is seen in lines 1, 15, 18, and 26. This shows Jefferson a display of respect, and dignity. Threw this, Jefferson is more likely to show his undivided attention to the subject at hand.…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He attempted to draw emotional support from Jefferson. Banneker asked Jefferson to step in his shoes, to go back to that “State of Servitude” and see the “injustice of a state of slavery.” He also questioned Jefferson’s authority and honesty. Banneker reminded him that if he supports the “state of slavery,” he may as well have been “found guilty” of the “most criminal act,” the very same one that he had so “professedly detested.” Banneker calls Jefferson’s acts “pitiable.”…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The allusion that Banneker integrates was a direct quote from the Declaration of Independence; a document that “supposedly” should include all people. This quote that Banneker included states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” By including this quote, Banneker admonishes Jefferson and this official document because this document contradicts the entire institution of slavery. This document contradicts slavery because slaves are not free and have no rights, therefore when this document refers to “all men,” all men are not actually included. By including this quote it was a very effective approach in trying to get Jefferson to see through his eyes, as it directly identifies the hypocrisy of such an important document that he personally had a great influence on.…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Slavery obviously dissents the true democratic values and this shows that Jefferson’s actions contradicts his words in the Declaration of Independence, which states “that all men are created equal” (Heffner, 10). Despite his powerful statement in the Declaration of Independence, he still owned slaves and unlike Washington, he never released…

    • 2099 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Often times when people think of early American historical figures that were against slavery, former president Abraham Lincoln is the first to come to mind. There were, of course, many before him. Alexander Hamilton “was steadfast committed to the eventual abolition of slavery” unlike many of his time. He stood his ground on his beliefs multiple times; his debates with Thomas Jefferson on the subject recorded through history. Hamilton brought light to the racial issue.…

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Jefferson believed America would someday abolish slavery but that if he drafted a statement abolishing slavery altogether at the time it would be largely voted against and Jefferson would lose popularity and the trust of the people. Another reason Jefferson didn 't propose an end to slavery because he though it would be a democratic process in which landowners as a whole would have to give up their human property and abolish slavery themselves. Proof of Jefferson’s belief in equality of all men but specifically blacks is evident in a letter from Jefferson to Benjamin Banneker, Jefferson says, “No body wishes more than I do to see such proofs as you exhibit, that nature has given to our black brethren, talents equal to those of the other colors of men, and that the appearance of a want of them is owing merely to the degraded condition of their existence, both in Africa and America” (Pg 454 The Portable Thomas Jefferson). This letter shows Jefferson was public about his beliefs against slavery and notion that all men are created…

    • 1423 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the draft of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson condemned England for forcing slavery upon America, and then using the slaves to combat the American Revolution. He believed that slaves were justifiable enemies and that the presence of slavery would destroy the Republic. Although Jefferson believed that no man had the right to enslave another, he did not believe that Blacks were equal to whites. Slavery did in fact become a polarizing policy, and the division between Americans led to the cession of southern states and a Civil War. The problems leading to and the resolutions of the war proved to be just as complicated as Thomas Jefferson’s views on race and slavery.…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Contrary to what many people believe, I believe that Thomas Jefferson is neither for slavery or against slavery. I believe this because according to all my research and resources, there is a lot of he is for slavery and supports it, but there also is a lot of he is against slavery and doesn't support it. So this is why I believe Thomas Jefferson was unbiased to the whole slavery debate. Here is some evidence why I believe that Thomas Jefferson was biased. To start off my paper, here are some reasons why Thomas Jefferson was for slavery.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Cornerstone Speech

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Alexander H. Stephens was known as the Vice President of Confederacy. As you know the Confederacy was a strong supporter of the idea of enslavement of Africans. They also believed that there was not any moral issues because they were not actual people. We today however know that this is completely incorrect. Alexander Stephens will eventually give a speech addressing the Confederate named the Cornerstone.…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Banneker knows that Jefferson sees how terrible African Americans are treated and feels as though he is the best person to write to. He wants Jefferson to convince other leaders to give African Americans liberty. Banneker states many reasons why slaves should be free and even relates the injustices of slavery to the injustices that with the British in order to get Jefferson to look at slavery in a new outlook. Banneker being an African American himself tried to fight for liberty and freedom of African…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The son of a slave, Benjamin Banneker, who was a farmer, astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, in his letter to Thomas Jefferson, he analyzes ways to use rhetorical strategies to argue against slavery. Banneker's purpose is to make Jefferson realize the damages that are taken by the cruelty of slavery itself and the inequality. He adopts a remorseful tone towards Jefferson in order to point across how all men should be treated equally, and not having people superior from others based on the color of their skin. Banneker achieves his purpose by using diction and syntax in his letter.…

    • 97 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays