Rhetorical Annalysis of Benjamin Banneker's Letter to Thomas Jefferson

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In 1791 Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, astronomer, and almanac author, wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson, in a courteous but forceful manner, challenging the framer of the Declaration of Independence and secretary of state on the topics of race and freedom. He touches on the topics of the way blacks were treated and seen by the common white American citizen and how it is an injustice. In his letter, Banneker uses ethos, logos, pathos, repetition, syntax, and juxtaposition to sympathize with Jefferson about former hardships to perhaps reach common ground. Benjamin Banneker appeals to ethos, creating a common ground for the two men and stating that both of them have overcome adversities, him in Slavery, and Jefferson in the independence of the country. He turns himself into a reliable source while doing so. The direct quotes from political and religious documents give his appeal logos. He appeals to pathos by repeatedly comparing how Thomas Jefferson felt while fighting for American freedom to his own feelings of hardship. He refers to slavery as “groaning captivity” ...

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