How Did Benjamin Banneker Influence The Government

Free born residents were black kids who were born as a free slave due to their mother being a freed slave. Both Benjamin Banneker and Paul Cuffe were free born residents. Just because they were free born residents doesn’t mean that they were not slaves. Banneker was a slave when he was a young teenager and escaped and earned his freedom. And Cuffe was also a former slave that purchased his freedom. Both of these men had big influences on the Government especially Banneker.

Benjamin Banneker was a slave at a very Banneker was a slave at a very young age and ended escaping slavery during his teenage years. After he escaped slavery he was taught how to read and write by his grandmother and ended up teaching himself astronomy and math. He used

his astronomy to accurately forecast lunar and solar eclipses. He was also able to get a job using his astronomy but was not able to keep it as he got ill three months into the job. Another thing that Banneker did with his education was to write almanacs. He published multiple almanacs and his best almanac was his astronomy almanac. Once his father passed away he took over the farm and made money raising tobacco crops.
Because he is able to write he also wrote letters to Thomas Jefferson and Jefferson challenged him to do anything he could to ensure racial equality.

It was hard for Banneker to do this because he started that challenge at an old age and he tried his hardest and ended being a big voice in racial equality and helped abolish slavery.

The other big free born resident was Paul Cuffe. His mom was a freed slave and when he was born they dropped the last name of the man who freed them in respect for him. He took his father´s African name as their last name. As a young teenager he built small boats and traded between the Massachusetts islands. During the revolutionary war he was going on a trade and his boat got captured by the British and he was held captive for three months. After they let him go he became a blockade runner.

In 1783 he married Alice Peguit and together they had seven children. When he was younger he learned how to read and write and he wanted his children to have the same skills in their lives. He helped build and finance one of the first integrated schools in America. Later in his life he was one of the First colored men to enter through the front door of the white house. He used his education and money to help ensure racial

equality.
Both of these men were big influences on racial equality and ending slavery in America. Without these men we would not be the nation we are now. They both used their education to make an impact on racial equality and help abolish slavery. They both had the same trouble in their lives because they had to deal with slavery and earn their freedom.