Obesity
With the new nation of The United States nearing the end of the 18th century, many people were still participating in the slave trade. Benjamin Banneker decided to seek the help of the Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, in order to change the country’s position on slavery. By pointing out the faults in one of the most powerful documents in history and forcing Jefferson to decide his own remedies for the situation, Banneker disputes a topic that to this day remains controversial.
Fifteen years before Jefferson received this letter from Banneker, he was preparing one of the two most important documents in the history of this country: The Declaration of Independence. Banneker repeats the most meaningful line in the document to show Jefferson that the line,”...all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights...” excludes a great majority of the population. He challenges Jefferson’s morals by questioning if he believes that slaves are not considered “men”, and if not, why do they deserve to be treated any differently than any other person. Banneker also appeals to pathos by exposing this huge flaw in one of the critical points of Jefferson’s greatest work. This helps to argue against slavery by urging Jefferson to attempt to make those words in iron pen speak truth once more.
Banneker compels Jefferson to make his own decisions about “the situation of [his] brethren” and “methods by which they may be relieved” by not listing any of his own. This technique forces Jefferson to realize the situation of the appalling natures of slavery for himself. It acts in the way of a rhetorical question by causing the audience to make their own assertions without asking a question at all. This enables Banneker to use Jefferson’s ethos as his own to better fortify his arguments against slavery by beginning them in Jefferson’s mind. When his audience formulates their own opinions, Banneker is able to create a more effective argument because
Fifteen years before Jefferson received this letter from Banneker, he was preparing one of the two most important documents in the history of this country: The Declaration of Independence. Banneker repeats the most meaningful line in the document to show Jefferson that the line,”...all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights...” excludes a great majority of the population. He challenges Jefferson’s morals by questioning if he believes that slaves are not considered “men”, and if not, why do they deserve to be treated any differently than any other person. Banneker also appeals to pathos by exposing this huge flaw in one of the critical points of Jefferson’s greatest work. This helps to argue against slavery by urging Jefferson to attempt to make those words in iron pen speak truth once more.
Banneker compels Jefferson to make his own decisions about “the situation of [his] brethren” and “methods by which they may be relieved” by not listing any of his own. This technique forces Jefferson to realize the situation of the appalling natures of slavery for himself. It acts in the way of a rhetorical question by causing the audience to make their own assertions without asking a question at all. This enables Banneker to use Jefferson’s ethos as his own to better fortify his arguments against slavery by beginning them in Jefferson’s mind. When his audience formulates their own opinions, Banneker is able to create a more effective argument because