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14th October, 2018
Benjamin Banneker’s letter to Thomas Jefferson and its effect in ending slavery
Benjamin Banneker was a free black man who had taught himself astronomy. Banneker
was born to a free African American woman and a former slave. He applied his knowledge in
astronomy to carry out astronomical calculations and to predict eclipses. Apart from publishing
almanacs, Banneker employed his knowledge in astronomy to aid in the boundary survey of the
District of Columbia (Pinkney, 22). He became part of this survey after Thomas Jefferson
recommended him to Mr. Andrew Ellicott who was the chief surveyor. In one of his almanacs,
Banneker included anti-slavery poetry, speeches and writings, as a way of championing the
slavery (Pinkney, 20). Jefferson knew Banneker after Banneker wrote him a letter in 1791.
Banneker was fifty nine years old when he penned a letter to the then U.S. Secretary of state,
Thomas Jefferson. Banneker represented the intellectual hope of African Americans, and used
this chance to express the need for ending slavery. Banneker, through his letter, made significant
contributions towards the end of slavery.
The period during which this letter was written was one where sl...