We as the people of the United States of America have been granted certain liberties and inalienable rights, and because of this, these liberties cannot be taken away from us. If this is so, then why was the Declartion written during the time of slavery, when there were men that had no rights or liberties? The people of the states had ignorantly turned their eyes from the Declaration of Independence in the involvement and justification of slavery for their own benefit because they did not see these slaves as equal men from their internal and external attributes and have mishandled them. Both Benjamin Banneker and Frederick Douglas were free African-Americans. Banneker grew up as a free African-American in the North with plenty of education. …show more content…
As stated in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Banneker uses this passage in his letter to Jefferson to show that this is not all in truth in Jefferson’s writing. If all men are created equal, then how is it that there is so much violence against his people to do the labor of the man too caught up in the labor of others to take matters into their own hands? It is given by nature that man should be created equal and live freely off the land instead of being used by another man in such a harsh manner. For Douglas, who is afflicted by what choices the American people have made in regards to slavery. He proclaims that those in favor of slavery are going against not only the Constitution, but the Bible itself. Where man was created from the start of the bible to nurture and care for the world and all things that have been …show more content…
The owners and congregation of the churches would argue that these African-American men and women do not have the ability to understand divinity, yet, both Banneker and Douglas are Christians and allude many sections of their writings to the Bible and Christianity. In his writing, Banneker compares the Bible to the Declaration of Independence, in which Jefferson had a heavy hand in: “….the Father of mankind and of his equal and impartial distribution of those rights and privileges which he had conferred upon them, that you should at the same time counteract his mercies” (191). He breaks down the fact that the father or creator would be disgusted with how man is not treated as an equal and that claiming they are equal while still being a slave owner is unjust, thus, proving the fact that if they are going to claim man to be equal than the shackles of all slaves should be relinquished and the slaves should be free like the white man. Otherwise, there is no justice, and there cannot be justice for the Declaration of Independence is written in hypocrisy. There is no way to justify actions against the slaves and somehow slave owners try and justify their actions through their churches. Douglas states that the ceremonies these men are attending are nothing but empty sermons allowing men to feel good about themselves. While in this light they are
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.
He calls attention to the time when “human aid appeared unavailable” and “hope and fortitude” did not affect the American people. This helplessness is the same emotion that the slaves endure, attempting to evoke sympathy in Jefferson so that he will take action against the unjust institution. Throughout the letter, Banneker recommends that Jefferson, “put your souls in their soul's stead;” the use of pathos and allusion to the Bible calls attention to Jefferson’s religion and how the institution of slavery doesn’t correspond with his religious beliefs. This, again, highlights Jefferson’s hypocritical stance. It is through Benjamin Banneker’s use of rhetorical devices that he is able to convey the injustices of slavery to Thomas Jefferson and to make progress with the hopes of all slaves being freed from the grasp of
I believe both clips would be a thorough way to help people understand the horrors of slavery. Clip 2 describes Douglass's two masters Captain Anthony and his overseer Mr. Plummer. Douglass states that Captain Anthony, "He was a cruel man, hardened by a long life of slaveholding. He would at times seem to take great pleasure in whipping a slave." (Clip 2) His overseer Mr. Plummer "was a miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster" (Clip 2) he was known to have cut and slash women's head so horribly that even the Master, the cruel man that he was, would at times be so outraged at his cruelty that he would threaten to whip him. They were terrible to their slaves and what they would do to them, Aunt Hester being an example. During
Banneker makes these religious appeals to attack Jefferson’s pro-slavery stance. Banneker conveys that while Jefferson is “fully convinced of the benevolence of the Father of mankind,” yet he “counteracts his mercies” by letting slavery continue. His religious appeal serves two purposes, the first of which chains Banneker and Jefferson under a common God. This goes on to show that Jefferson and Banneker have a collective understanding. However, while this ties the two men together, it also ridicules Jefferson. Banneker attacks Jefferson under the eyes of God so that he can sustain a respectful tone while also reprimanding
In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting three inspirational people and their experiences on reading and writing. Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, and Sandra Cisneros all had different opinions about it. All of them overcame struggles that were different but similar in some way. What really intrigued me was that they followed their hearts in what they wanted to do even though people told them they couldn't.
Douglass moves to attack the Christian beliefs of the American people, showing the great discrepancies between the ideals held in the Christian faith and the ideals held by slaveowners. Christians avoidance of abolishing slavery, yet worshipping a loving and peaceful God, may be the worse crime of them all. Douglass explains the hypocrisy of the American people by choosing to continue slavery while claiming the benevolent principles embedded in the Bible. At the moment he gives this speech, “they are thanking God for the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, yet they are utterly silent in respect to a law which robs religion of its chief significance” (Douglass 12). The American people acknowledge and thank God for their freedoms, yet purposefully
Both Frederick Douglas and David Walker wrote against slavery. Frederick Douglas used his personal account as an enslaved man to share the evils of slavery and get his voice heard. His work is written like a novel with his commentary on the situations and his beliefs as the story continues. While the slave narrative was a large piece in the abolitionist movement, David Walker chooses a different approach than others. He wrote an Appeal, much like a legal document in which he argued his personal viewpoints against the institution of slavery but with a great deal of imagery. Although both works are abolitionist literature, the content and type of work are different from one another. The works have similarities and differences and also serve to
When you look at today’s government, it is viewed that everyone will be treated equally and decisions will be made in the best interest of the people. But when thinking about the government of the past, one must ask if these same views were expressed by the people of that time? Did everyone fill that they were apart of a just system? According to Frederick Douglass and Henry David Thoreau the answer to that question is no. The government was unjust because so many followed the wrong doings of the law rather than doing what was right, subjected African Americans to harsher punishments
“Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X’s “Learning to Read” address their abilities of being self taught to read and write. A deficiency of education makes it difficult to traverse life in any case your race. Being an African American while in a dark period of mistreatment and making progress toward an advanced education demonstrates extraordinary devotion. Malcolm X seized “special pains” in searching to inform himself on “black history” (Malcolm X 3). African Americans have been persecuted all through history, yet two men endeavor to demonstrate that regardless of your past, an education can be acquired by anybody. Douglass and Malcolm X share some similarities on how they learned how to read and write as well
America, a land with shimmering soil where golden dust flew and a days rain of money could last you through eternity. Come, You Will make it in America. That was the common theme of those who would remove to America. It is the common hymn, the classic American rags-to-riches myth, and writers such as Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass had successfully embraced it in their works.Franklin and Douglass are two writers who have quite symmetrical styles and imitative chronology of events in their life narratives.
“The right to have a slave implies the right in some one to make a slave; that right must be equal and mutual, and this would resolve society into a state of perpetual war.” Senator William Steward, an anti-slavery supporter, issued this claim in his “There is a Higher Law than the Constitution” speech. Steward, like all abolitionist, viewed all of man as equals. This equality came from the “higher law” that is the Bible. Since all men were created by God then all men were equals in God’s eyes. Abolitionist believed that whites had no more right to make a slave out of a African American than the African American had to make a slave out of a white man.
The US constitution was written with great vision to create strong nation. The bill of right were written, it provide all humans with rights. The writers of the constitution we hypocrites, they didn’t abide by what they preached. Thomas Jefferson wrote himself “ all men are created equal” but he owned slaves. The founding father didn’t look or even think about slavery when they wrote the constitution. They were pre-occupied in getting the southern state to join the union and sign the new constitution. They southern states believed that the federal government shouldn’t mess with the issue on slavery because slavery was a state issue.
“All men are born free and with equal rights, and must always remain free and have equal rights,” (Thomas Jefferson) This is the famous statement made by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. He is being extremely hypocritical here considering he himself owned a near two hundred slaves. The slaves are still owned and treated as ‘property’. Thomas Jefferson did not have care for the slaves. The equalities discussed in the Declaration were not aimed to all men, they were aimed at specific white men. Frederick Douglass a former slave excellently asks in reaction to Jefferson; “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” What he means by “Us” is African American, it could also mean slave considering he was one. It is just so perfectly put because it is obvious the beliefs of Jefferson were not extended to African American’s or slaves. He continues on rather sarcastically “confess the benefits”, this is important because there was very little benefits. (Frederick Douglass, 1852,
First, the Africans’ place in the Jefferson’s envisioned America did not change much, but only grew in severity. He thought of Africans as being inferior. Even when a brainy and freed African named Benjamin Banneker wrote an
In this final research analysis, I will be doing a comparison between the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” and the “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” to show how both Douglass and Rowlandson use a great deal of person strength and faith in God to endure their life and ultimately gain their freedom.