In 1776, America was formed on the main principle of liberty. The Declaration of Independence clearly emphasizes this equality between all men. The man who made this statement and the listeners of the letter are indeed convinced that it is in his interest and his intentions to put an end to slavery, that slavery is something to which he himself does not don't believe. convince Jefferson Benjamin Banneker uses several religious appeals, repetition, and the use of precise diction to appeal to Ethos. This is important because racism was prevalent at the time and by filling in the chatter and building Ethos, Banneker can successfully present his arguments without being portrayed as just another black man with a grudge. His opinion would be more likely to be taken into account if he succeeded in establishing Ethos. He also uses diction to appeal to the “human” side of Pathos and Jefferson, to drive the point home and call Jefferson to action. In the letter, Banneker makes several religious appeals that undermine Jefferson's position of allowing slavery to continue. By making these appeals, Banneker is also able to construct Ethos with Jefferson by implying that they believe in the same god. In the quote "you were so fully convinced of the benevolence of the Father of mankind and of his equal and impartial distribution of these rights", Banneker manages to develop the idea that Jefferson is a man who should believe in mercy for all . He uses the terms “equal” and “impartial” to make his point because they reinforce the main principle he is getting at, equality. In the quote, Banneker is also able to develop the idea that while "the Father" does good and good to his people, Jefferson counteracts it by tolerating slavery...... middle of paper ... ...his words also become more powerful when he points out that these horrible things happen to his "brothers", not just slaves but people, human beings, men of God, just like him. Through this appeal to emotion, Banneker is able to plant a guild within Jefferson that because of his actions, this fate imposed on his people is occurring. By doing this, Banneker calls Jefferson to action. Considering the context and audience, Banneker gets the message across effectively. He manages to navigate the ins and outs of this piece through precise diction, repetition and appeals to religion, Ethos and Pathos. He puts himself and Jefferson under the same banner and treats his people with respect throughout the play establishing Ethos, which is vital because he also employs Pathos to drive the point home. Works CitedBanneker, Benjamin. Letter to Thomas Jefferson. 1971