Thomas Jefferson announced “Our citizens may be deceived for a while, and have been deceived; but as long as the presses can be protected, we may trust to them for light”. As one of his famous quotes. Jefferson’s quote is stating that anti republicans didn’t have to risk themselves for any change of government. He is trying to say to reduce department to economy. Ida B. Wells an african-american muckraker journalist who wrote about lynching trying to make a point to stop it. Ida fearlessly launched anti-lynching crusades to help fight against it. Jefferson would agree with Ida’s muckraking about anti-lynching, he want to protect the people in the economy, and not destroy them.
One of Upton Sinclair’s most favorite muckraking was The Jungle
Guilt is a big motivator for many of people's actions because most people don’t want to offend anyone, especially if they want to uphold a certain reputation, like a man with political power. To his advantage, with an accusatory, critical, yet reverent tone, Banneker makes sure that Jefferson, a man with political power, understands the hypocritical actions of the nation and feels ashamed of the suffering which has gone on, hopefully enough to make a difference in the injustice which the United States has
The quote also appeals to Jefferson’s emotions because Banneker makes him feel guilty about slavery. Jefferson
•“She was not even listening. She had gotten tired of listening. She knew, as we all knew, what the outcome would be. A white man had been killed during a robbery, and thought two of the robbers had been killed on the spot, one had been captured, and he, too, would have to die” (4). This quote is important because it allows me to understand that Jefferson has to die because he was the only person in the liquor store and was a black man.
Banneker talks about how Jefferson and people like him (white) have “miraculous and providential preservations” and how Banneker and his people “suffer” and “variety of dangers”. Jefferson and his people fought for freedom and got it and were now able to be how ever they want, while the slaves have to deal with the same treatment as before. By pointing this out he shows how Jefferson is being no better than those he fought against. Therefore for everything they fought for to be true to the core, they must put an end to slaveholding. Banneker uses irony again in his use of grotesque language to show the injustice of slavery.
Jefferson presented his views based on rational thinking and intuitions. It was his personal belief that Indian and whites are equal in all aspects of life. He did not presented his arguments based on facts and figures. As Jefferson wrote in his letter that “I have seen some thousands myself, and conversed much with them, and have found in them a masculine, sound understanding.” It noticeably shows that it was belief of Jefferson that Indians and whites possess the same masculine strength and power.
Thomas Jefferson is commonly known to be a contradiction. Whether it is on the idea of slavery or on the idea of Indians, Jefferson seems not to just pick one view. This contradiction may be due to the different identities of Southerners, Virginians, and Americans. Southern identities can be part of where Jefferson describes the nature. The same goes for Virginia.
The founding fathers were smart men who the world looked up to because of their smart decisions, actions, that directed the U.S. to what it is today. But sadly in today’s society most people either have forgotten the things they did for us, or they just do not care. The founding fathers were great men who led this country to victory in war and on the political front. And often early U.S. history is portrayed as moving smoothly for the colonies turning into the a country of its own , but in reality it was just the opposite. George Washington our first president had problems figuring out ways to control the new nation as it progressed under his leadership.
It is a tremendous honor to accept the Outstanding Investigative Journalism Award on behalf of Ida B. Wells. And to think her journey all started on one train trip. When Ida was in her early twenties, she was taking a train and seated in the ladies car. Despite the 1875 Civil Rights Act, she was then asked by the conductor of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company to give her seat to a white man, and to sit in the ‘Jim Crow’, or black, car. She declined saying that the car ahead was a smoking one and she was in the ladies, and proposed to stay where she was.
Writing is one of the most basic means of human expression. In writing, people often try to persuade others by making arguments filled with rhetorical strategies. This is the case with Benjamin Banneker’s letter to Thomas Jefferson, regarding the issue of slavery. Benjamin Banneker was a son of former slaves, who was a farmer, astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, and author. In his letter, Benjamin Banneker is basically trying to convince Thomas Jefferson that slavery is bad and that he should try and end it.
One of the historical references he makes is quoting a section from the Declaration of Independence. He quotes the beginning of the Declaration of Independence when it mentions that “All men are created equal” and that men have unalienable rights, which are “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” He tells Jefferson that the black men and women of America are not given these rights. They are not given the right to life because they are slaves. They are not given the right to liberty because they are slaves.
Hypocrisy is one of the worst moral crimes someone can commit. Benjamin Banneker's letter to Thomas Jefferson explains that he has committed this crime. He has gone back on his morale of everyone having unalienable rights by letting slavery continue to happen, and Banneker believes he is the prime contender in allowing this crime to happen and that he should be the start and make the move to stop slavery. Banneker explains this to Jefferson in such a way that the letter is both respectful and thoughtful while also being rude due to the use of how he phrases his sentences, that his argument can not be questioned because of his use of ‘Sir’ to show his respect, and his ardent choice of words which are all collectively used to explain how Jefferson is being hypocritical and show him why he should fix this.
Banneker uses negative details by using quotes from the Declaration of Independence and the Bible to use against Jefferson. Banneker uses
In Ida B. Wells’ works Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases and A Red Record, Ida B. Wells argues against the lynching of African Americans of the time. Wells’ uses many strategies and techniques to make her arguments as convincing as possible throughout her works. She also uses clear language and well-structured sentences to make it clear what she is arguing. Ida B. Wells makes sure to use statistics and offers rebuttals to the opposing side’s point of view to strengthen her argument. Wells presents these arguments by isolating and clearly stating the problem, giving descriptive and specific examples, using statistics, and offering rebuttals.
Even in today’s society racism is still controversial. Jefferson was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had been incriminated. That exact type of situation has happened numerous times these past few months. Black people are called monkeys and even back then they were still considered animals. Jefferson is not a hog, but the defender said otherwise,
“The Constitution and Slavery” pointed this out by stating that “Yet at the time these words were written, more than 500,000 black Americans were slaves. Jefferson himself owned more than 100.” This shows that even though Jefferson insisted on the idea of “all men are created equal,” some can say that he is a hypocrite. “How could somebody make such a statement while they are doing the same devilish act?” must have gone through the minds of those questioning Jefferson’s sincerity. Indeed, he did commit those acts.