Rhetorical Devices In Atticus's Speech

Benjamin Banneker, the son of a former slave, farmer, astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, and author. In response to his concerns regarding the conditions of slaves, he wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson and George Washington addressing the cruelty of slavery. In his letter, Banneker made it his point to inform Jefferson of the tyrannical act that is slavery, where which millions of his people have to been forced. Banneker challenges Jefferson, stating that the Declaration is a lie because all men are not created equal. Benjamin Banneker uses allusion in order to abolish the unrighteousness of slavery.

Friedman analyses and concludes that in his article, the equality is “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” (266). The reason why all persons are created equal is that God created us and gave us intrinsic value that we speak of in terms of “right” language. For me, I agree with Friedman’s point that he mentions “All men are created equal”, but not “Equality before God” because I am not a Christian. We are all people that have the same human characters, which means we have the same privilege and rights as humans. No matter what religions we are, we still have the same basic rights and opportunities; no matter what status we are since we were born, it happens before the premise of justice, which is most

By doing this it shows that if Thomas Jefferson is okay with slavery it makes him a hypocrite, because in the document he wrote he says that all men should be equal, but with slavery

Lincoln tried to rationalize the emancipation of slaves, which at that time was viewed as unconstitutional, by endorsing The Declaration of Independance. The declaration declares that “all men are created equal.” but the Constitution is very selective in who they consider to be equal. The Gettysburg Address was used to let the American people know where Lincoln stood on the issue of slavery, which to this day still remains one of the most known speeches in American history. It implied that all men are created equal, but at that time it was quite the opposite.

The art of persuasion, rhetoric, has allowed speakers and writers to influence others with their words, and Benjamin Banneker uses various compositional techniques in an attempt to liberate his people. He challenges Thomas Jefferson’s pro slavery views by criticizing his racist, and hypocritical, views of blatant human persecution. The vile institution of slavery was an issue that Americans during Banneker’s time blindly accepted. By using allusions to American history, Banneker attempted to prove that Jefferson was a hypocrite of his own American beliefs. Banneker makes a plethora of references to Jefferson’s hypocrisy, such as the line “you cannot acknowledge that the present freedom and tranquility which you enjoy you have mercifully received and that it is the peculiar blessing of Heaven”.

John Locke believed that all men had natural rights and that they could manage their own belongings. Adam Smith believed that all men were free to pursue their interest. Voltaire believe that they live happily and peaceful because there was more than one religion. Mary Wollstonecraft believed that all women should be educated the same as a man. Even though they focused on different aspects, they shared the same beliefs of natural

The third detail of a work in progress is Equality. In the Constitution it says “All men are created equal” , but even when the Constitution was made, America still had trouble with that. On Document 2 Voting Qualifications it says that in order to vote you had to be white, christian, and male. This proves that back when the phrase “All men are created equal” was written, equality was still a work in progress.

By stating that all lives matter it negates the message that BLM is trying to make clear. It denies African Americans the recognition that their lives matter by attempting to make them feel foolish, selfish, or silly. If all lives matter, then black lives matter, but if all lives really did matter equally under the rule of law, BLM would not need to exist. Yet here BLM stands, stoically pushing for the legitimacy that it should have been rightfully awarded at its start. BLM’s struggle for legitimacy is based on the power structures of systemic racism created by the country’s unanimously white founders from the start.

Banneker uses multiple rhetorical devices to argue against slavery and create a sense of guilt in Jefferson. Jefferson’s guilt trip starts by Banneker using logos in his first paragraph. He starts off by reminding Jefferson that, “the British Crown were exerted with every powerful effort in order to reduce you [Jefferson] to a state of servitude.” With this, Banneker establishes that Jefferson was one of the numerous colonists that felt the colonies should not be under British rule. Also, Banneker builds on to the fact that Jefferson was once a servant himself, consequently starting to guilt Jefferson, since Jefferson supports slavery despite once being a “servant” himself.

“America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and maintain liberty among men“ (Woodrow Wilson). Liberty is the vision Thomas Jefferson wrote for in his famous document, “Declaration of Independence.” He, and many others, believed in the separation of the 13 colonies from England, separation from heavy taxes and a restricting government. The authors of the “Declaration of Independence” wrote with exceptional diction, trustworthy ethos,and righteous(?) tone to unify americans and declare separation from England. Jefferson instantly starts off his essay talking about the human right to “dissolve the political bands”, and to become equal to nature and laws of God.

He helped people see that what he was doing was right and that it doesn’t matter what color your skin is. They were humans too and everything Malcolm worked for had a purpose. Malcolm was helping people see that they were all created equally and it didn’t matter what color you skin was. He was ending racism one step at a time. Malcolm was changing America and the trip he took to Mecca was exactly like the trip Americans, at that time, needed to take to realize that everyone is equal.

Throughout the letter Banneker uses different allusions to help persuade Jefferson to rethink slavery in the states. Mr. Banneker alludes to the Declaration of Independence in his letter when he writes the most memorable words in the Declaration, “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.” In Banneker’s mind that means all men are created equal, regardless of their skin color . Not only did Banneker allude to the famous document, but he also refers the biggest

Thomas Jefferson wrote one of the most important and ironic phrases in the United States’s history: “...that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable right; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (652). The Declaration of Independence boasts that it supports that all men have a right to liberty. However, even though they declare it, it does not always hold truthful. The declaration only promotes the freedom and separation as a united country or for the men of the occupied countries. There is no reference to women, people of color, or children in regards to liberty.

At the beginning of U.S. history there were many debates on how the country should be run. People mainly argued about the balance of power between the individual person and the Federal Government. Some people and documents that addressed this issue are the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, The U.S. Constitution: Preamble and Bill of Rights, and “Jefferson: The Best of Enemies” by Ron Chernow.    

In the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson wrote “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men a created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuits of Happiness” (Jefferson). Everyone has the same rights as others, but the problem in this century is the lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender community (LGBT) does not have the equal rights as “straight” citizens do. Reasons why they may not have these equal rights is because of the government may be embarrassed to give these people their rights to be equal cause the government will lose the respect and strength of the other countries and theirs. Along with most the world’s population believes