Benjamin Banneker Analysis

The unjustified maltreatment of the African American race between the years 1776 and 1850 served as a dividing line between an individual’s ability to obtain freedom and equal opportunity. African American men were stripped of the rights granted by Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, which states that “all men are created equal” and are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The concept of owning African Americans, as slaves, contradicts the ideology present in the Declaration, in addition to the moral of slave owners. Benjamin Banneker, a free African American discussed the concepts of race and rights, in his letter addressed to Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of State. Banneker explains that many of his ‘brethren’ were