I suppose it is a truth too well attested to
you, to need a proof here, that we are a race of beings, who have
long labored under the abuse and censure of the world; that we
have long been looked upon with an eye of contempt; and that we
have long been considered rather as brutish than human, and scarcely
capable of mental endowments.
Sir, I hope I may safely admit, in consequence
of that report which hath reached me, that you are a man far less
inflexible in sentiments of this nature, than many others; that
you are measurably friendly, and well disposed towards us; and
that you are willing and ready to lend your aid and assistance
to our relief, from those many distresses, and numerous calamities,
to which we are reduced. Now Sir, if this is founded in truth,
I apprehend you will embrace every opportunity, to eradicate that
train of absurd and false ideas and opinions, which so generally
prevails with respect to us; and that your sentiments are concurrent
with mine, which are, that one universal Father hath given being
to us all; and that he hath not only made us all of one flesh,
but that he hath also, without partiality, afforded us all the
same sensations and endowed us all with the same faculties; and
that however variable we may be in society or religion, however
diversified in situation or color, we are all of the same family,
and stand in the same relation to him.
Sir, if these are sentiments of which you are
fully persuaded, I hope you cannot but acknowledge, that it is
the indispensible duty of those, who maintain for themselves the
rights of human nature, and who possess the obligations of Christianity,
to extend their power and influence to the relief of every part
of the human race, from whatever burden or oppression they may
unjustly labor under; and this, I apprehend, a full conviction
of the truth and obligation of these principles should lead all
to. Sir, I have long been convinced, that if your love for yourselves,
and for those inestimable laws, which preserved to you the rights
of human nature, was founded on sincerity, you could not but be
solicitous, that every individual, of whatever rank or distinction,
might with you equally enjoy the blessings thereof; neither could
you rest satisfied short of the most active effusion of your exertions,
in order to their promotion from any state of degradation, to
which the unjustifiable cruelty and barbarism of men may have
reduced them.
Sir, I freely and cheerfully acknowledge, that
I am of the African race, and in that color which is natural to
them of the deepest dye; and it is under a sense of the most profound
gratitude to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, that I now confess
to you, that I am not under that state of tyrannical thraldom,
and inhuman captivity, to which too many of my brethren are doomed,
but that I have abundantly tasted of the fruition of those blessings,
which proceed from that free and unequalled liberty with which
you are favored; and which, I hope, you will willingly allow you
have mercifully received, from the immediate hand of that Being,
from whom proceedeth every good and perfect Gift.
Sir, suffer me to recal to your mind that time,
in which the arms and tyranny of the British crown were exerted,
with every powerful effort, in order to reduce you to a state
of servitude: look back, I entreat you, on the variety of dangers
to which you were exposed; reflect on that time, in which every
human aid appeared unavailable, and in which even hope and fortitude
wore the aspect of inability to the conflict, and you cannot but
be led to a serious and grateful sense of your miraculous and
providential preservation; you cannot but acknowledge, that the
present freedom and tranquility which you enjoy you have mercifully
received, and that it is the peculiar blessing of Heaven.
This, Sir, was a time when you cleary saw into
the injustice of a state of slavery, and in which you had just
apprehensions of the horrors of its condition. It was now that
your abhorrence thereof was so excited, that you publicly held
forth this true and invaluable doctrine, which is worthy to be
recorded and remembered in all succeeding ages: "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, and that among these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness.'' Here was a time, in which your tender feelings
for yourselves had engaged you thus to declare, you were then
impressed with proper ideas of the great violation of liberty,
and the free possession of those blessings, to which you were
entitled by nature; but, Sir, how pitiable is it to reflect, that
although you were so fully convinced of the benevolence of the
Father of Mankind, and of his equal and impartial distribution
of these rights and privileges, which he hath conferred upon them,
that you should at the same time counteract his mercies, in detaining
by fraud and violence so numerous a part of my brethren, under
groaning captivity and cruel oppression, that you should at the
same time be found guilty of that most criminal act, which you
professedly detested in others, with respect to yourselves.
I suppose that your knowledge of the situation
of my brethren, is too extensive to need a recital here; neither
shall I presume to prescribe methods by which they may be relieved,
otherwise than by recommending to you and all others, to wean
yourselves from those narrow prejudices which you have imbibed
with respect to them, and as Job proposed to his friends, "put
your soul in their souls' stead;'' thus shall your hearts be enlarged
with kindness and benevolence towards them; and thus shall you
need neither the direction of myself or others, in what manner
to proceed herein. And now, Sir, although my sympathy and affection
for my brethren hath caused my enlargement thus far, I ardently
hope, that your candor and generosity will plead with you in my
behalf, when I make known to you, that it was not originally my
design; but having taken up my pen in order to direct to you,
as a present, a copy of an Almanac, which I have calculated for
the succeeding year, I was unexpectedly and unavoidably led thereto.
This calculation is the production of my arduous
study, in this my advanced stage of life; for having long had
unbounded desires to become acquainted with the secrets of nature,
I have had to gratify my curiosity herein, through my own assiduous
application to Astronomical Study, in which I need not recount
to you the many difficulties and disadvantages, which I have had
to encounter.
And although I had almost declined to make my
calculation for the ensuing year, in consequence of that time
which I had allotted therefor, being taken up at the Federal Territory,
by the request of Mr. Andrew Ellicott, yet finding myself under
several engagements to Printers of this state, to whom I had communicated
my design, on my return to my place of residence, I industriously
applied myself thereto, which I hope I have accomplished with
correctness and accuracy; a copy of which I have taken the liberty
to direct to you, and which I humbly request you will favorably
receive; and although you may have the opportunity of perusing
it after its publication, yet I choose to send it to you in manuscript
previous thereto, that thereby you might not only have an earlier
inspection, but that you might also view it in my own hand writing.
And now, Sir, I shall conclude, and subscribe
myself, with the most profound respect, Your most obedient humble
servant,
BENJAMIN BANNEKER.
Thomas Jefferson's Reply to Benjamin Banneker
To Mr. BENJAMIN BANNEKER.
Philadelphia, August 30, 1791.
SIR,
I THANK you, sincerely, for your letter of the
19th instant, and for the Almanac it contained. No body wishes
more than I do, to see such proofs as you exhibit, that nature
has given to our black brethren talents equal to those of the
other colors of men; and that the appearance of the want of them,
is owing merely to the degraded condition of their existence,
both in Africa and America. I can add with truth, that no body
wishes more ardently to see a good system commenced, for raising
the condition, both of their body and mind, to what it ought to
be, as far as the imbecility of their present existence, and other
circumstances, which cannot be neglected, will admit.
I have taken the liberty of sending your Almanac
to Monsieur de Condozett, Secretary of the Academy of Sciences
at Paris, and Member of the Philanthropic Society, because I considered
it as a document, to which your whole color had a right for their
justification, against the doubts which have been entertained
of them.
I am with great esteem, Sir, Your most obedient
Humble Servant,
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
(Click
here to see image of letter)
Banneker's letter: University
of Virginia Library
Jeferson's letter: Thomas Jefferson
Papers, American
Memory Collection, Library of Congress
