Summary Of Benjamin Banneker's Letter To Thomas Jefferson

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In 1971, Benjamin Banneker wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson, arguing against slavery. Jefferson was the framer of the Declaration of Independence and secretary of state to President George Washington, thus making him a candidate who has some power to end slavery (or at least influence those with a higher position) once and for all (intro, lines 2-3). Because of Jefferson’s status, Banneker uses a variety of strategies to persuade Jefferson that slavery needs to be abolished through his use of pathos, ethos, and allusion.
The use of pathos can be seen in the first paragraph when Banneker points out the times when Jefferson felt weak and vulnerable compared to his strong, political image. Such times were when “[Jefferson was] exposed …
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