Criticism Of Banneker's Letter

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Alongside the variation of tones, Banneker provides Jefferson with personal experience that refutes Jefferson’s claim that black people are intellectually inferior. Towards the end of the letter, Banneker describes various intellectual accomplishments which he has achieved over the past year. Moreover, Banneker illustrates his intellect by detailing one of his works, “a copy of an Almanack which I have calculated for the Succeeding year,” (Banneker). In writing this, Banneker displays his literacy as well as his capability to apply knowledge to predict the weather and such. All of the aspects displayed by the almanac are traits which Jefferson thought black people lacked, so including this leaves Jefferson to deduce that he is wrong. In the succeeding paragraph, Banneker describes his passion for knowledge by providing his reasoning for creating the almanac. …show more content…

Banneker’s letter illustrates that the intellectual experience of a black person can not be considered inferior to that of a white person, since Banneker passionately pursued knowledge. Furthermore, Banneker displays another feat of intelligence, his competence in the field of surveying, in the next

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