c O P ¥ L E T T.E R BENJAMIN BANNEKER, 20 LH ef SECRETARY or STATE, WITH His A N S W E R. Woo PEELED DP DP DDS rrr PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED AND sol.p sy DANIEL LAWRENCE, No. 33. NORTH FOURTH-STREET, NEAR RACE, M.DCC.XCIIeLETTER ‘FROM BENJAMIN BANNEKER, &. Maryland, Baltimore County, Auguf? 19, 1791. Ss IR, I AM fully fenfible of the greatnefs of that free- dom, which I take with you on the prefent occafion ; a liberty which feemed to me fearcely allowable, when I reflected on that diftinguifhed and dignified ftation in which you ftand, and the almoft general prejudice and prepoffeffion, which is fo prevalent in the world againft thofe of my complexion. I fuppofe it is a truth too well attefted to you, to need a proof here, that we are a race of be- ings, who have long labored under the abufe and cenfure of the world; that we have long been[ 4 ] ‘looked upon with an eye of contempt ; and thai we have long been confidered rather as brutitt than human, - and fcarcely capable of mental en- dowments. Sir, I hope I may fafely admit, in confequence of that report which hath reached me, that you are a man far lefs inflexible in fentiments of this nature, than-many others; that you are meafur- ably friendly, and well difpofed towards us; and that you are willing and ready to lend your aid and. afliftance to our relief, from thofe many dif treffes, and numerous calamities, to which we are zeduced. : Now Sir, if this i is founded in truth, I appre- head you will embrace every opportunity, to era- dicate that train of abfurd and falfe ideas and opi- nions, which fo generally prevails with refpeét to us; and that your fentiments are concurrent with mine, which are, that one univerfal Father hath given being to us all; and that he hath not only made us all of one flefh, but that he hath alfo, svithout partiality, afforded us all the fame fenfa- tions and endowed us all with the fame faculties; and that however variable we may be in fociety[5 .J ot religion, however diverfified in fituation or co- jor, we are all of the fame family, and ftand in the fame relation to him. Sir, if thefe are fentiments of which you are fully perfuaded, I hope you cannot but acknow~ ledge, that it is the indifpenfible duty of thofe, who maintain for themfelves the rights of human nature, and who_poffefs the obligations of Chrif- ‘lanity, to extend their power and influence to the relief of every part of the human race, from what- ever burden or oppreffion they may unjuftly labor under ; and this, I apprehend, a full conviction - of the truth and obligation of thefe principles. . fhould lead all to. Sir, I have long been convinced, that if your love for yourfelves, and for thofe ineftimable laws, which preferved to you the rights of human ne- ture, was founded on fincerity, you could not but be folicitous, that every individual, of whatever rank or diftinGion, might with you equally enjoy the bleflings thereof; neither could you reft fatif- fed fhort of the moft ative effufion of your exer- ‘ions, in order to their promotion from any ftate B .[ 6 ] of degradation, to which the unjnftifiable cruelty and barbarifm of men may have reduced them. Sir, I freely and cheerfully acknowledge, that Tam ofthe African race, and in that coler which is natural to them of the deepeft dye; and it is under a fenfe of the mo profound gratitude to the Supreme Ruler of the Univerfe, that I now confefs to you, that Iam not under that ftate of tyr annical thraldom, and inhuman captivity, to which too many of my brethren are doomed, but that I have abundantly tafted of the fruition of thofe bleffings, 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 immedizte hand of that Being, from whom proceedeth every good a perfect ‘Gift. Sir, faffer me to recal to your mind that time, in aie the arms and tyranny of the Britifh crown were exerted, with every powerful effort, in or- der to reduce you to a ftate of fervitude: look back, I entreat you, on the variety of dangers to which you were expofed; refle& on that time, in whicn every human aid appeared unavailable, and{7 ] in which even hope and fortitude wore the afpe& of inability to the conflit, and you cannot but ke led to a ferious and grateful fenfe of your mira- culous and providential prefervation; you cannot but acknowledge, that the prefent freedom and tranquility which you enjoy you have mercifully received, and that it is the peculiar blefling of Heaven. This, Sir, was a time when you cleary faw into the injuftice of a flate of flavery, end in which you had juft apprehenfions of the horrors of its condition. It was now that your abhorrence thereof was fo excited, that you publicly held forth this true and ie ible do@rine, which is worthy to be recorded and remembered in all fucceeding ages: “ We hold thefe truths to be felfevident, that all men are created equal; that: they are endowed by their Creator with certein walienable rights, and that among thefe are, life, iberty, and the purfuit of ha appinels.” Here was a time, in which your tender feel- ings for yourfelves had engaged you thus to de- clare, you were then imprefled with proper ideas nf the great violation of liberty, and the free potC 8 ] feffion of thofe bleffings, to which you were en- titled by nature; but, Sir, how pitiable is it te refle&t, that altheugh you were fo fully convinced of the benevolence. of the Father of Mankind, anc of his equal and impartial diftribution of thefe rights and privileges, which he hath conferrec m, that you fhould at the fame time counteract his mercies, in detaining by fraud anc violence fo numerous a part of my brethren, un- der groaning captivity and cruel oppreffion, that you fhould at the fame time be found guilty o hat moft criminal a€, which yeu profefiedly de efted in others, with refpect to yourfelves. I fuppofe that your knowledge of the fituati on of my brethren, is too extenfive to need recital here; neither fhall I prefuine to preferib maicthods by which they may be relieved, other ee than by recommending to you and a] i to wean yourfelves from’ thofe narroy pjudices which you have imbibed with re fpe& to them, and as Job propofed to h friends, ‘ “put your foul in their fouls ftead : thas fhall your hearts be enlarged with kindne and benevolence towards them ; 3 and thus tha a upon ty eho katC9 ] you need neither the direGion of myfelf or others, in what manner to proceed herein. And now, Sir, although my fympathy and af- fection for my brethren hath caufed my enlarge- ment thus far, I ardently hope, that your candor and generofity will plead with you in my behalf, when I make known to you, that it was not ori- ginally my defign ; but having taken up my pen in order to direé&t to you, as a prefent, a copy lof an Almanac, which I have calculated for the ucceeding year, I was unexpectedly and unavoid- ably led thereto. This calculation is the production of my ardu+ lous ftudy, in this my advanced ftage of life; for having long had unbounded defires to become ac- uainted with the fecrets of nature, I have had o gratify my curiofity herein, through my own fiduous application to Aftronomical Study, in which I need not recount to you the many diffi ulties and difadvantages, which I have had to ncounter. And although I had almoft declined to make y calculation for the enfuing year, in confe- Cc[ 10 J quence of that time which I had allotted there. for, being taken up at the Federal Territory, by the requeft of Mr. Andrew Ellicott, yet finding myfelf under feveral engagements to Printers o this ftate, to whom I had communicated my de fizgn, on my return to my place of refidence, - induftrioufly applied myfelf thereto, which I hope T have accomplifhed with correétnefs and. accura: cy ; a copy of which I have taken the liberty tc dire& to you, and which I humbly requeft you sill favorably receive; and although you may have the opportunity of perufing it after its pub- lication, yet I choofe to fend it to you in manu: f{eript previous thereto, that thereby you might not only have an earlier infpeétion, but that you might alfo view it in my own hand writing. And now, Sir, I fhall conclude, and fubfcribe mylelf with the moft profound refpe&, Your moft obedient humble fervant, BENJAMIN BANNEKER.[ uu j To Mr. BenJAMIN BANNEKER. Philadelphia, Auguft 50, 1791. S1R,. [ THANK you, fincerely, for your letter of the 19th inftant, and for the Almanac it con- ained. No body wifhes more than I do, to fee ‘uch proofs as you exhibit, that nature has given ‘0 our black brethren talents equal to thofe of the other colors of men; and that the appear- mice of the want of them, is owing merely to the degraded condition of their exiftence, both in Africa and America. I can add with truth, that no body wifhes more ardently to fee a good fyftem commenced, for raifing the condition, both of their body and mind, to. what it ought to be, as far as the imbecility of their prefent exiftence, md other circumtances, which cannot be ne- elected, will admit. I have taken the liberty of fending your Al- manac to Monfieur de Condozett, Secretary of thef 1 J Academy of Sciences at Paris, and Member o the Philanthropic Society, becaufe I ccnfidere: it as a document, to which your whole color ha: aright for their juftification, againft the doubt which have been entertained of them. Iam with great efteem, Sir, Your moft obedient Humble Servant, “THOMAS JEFFERSON,{ 35 ] The following Account, taken from BaNNEKER’S Almanac, is inferted here, for the Information of the Public. Baltimore, Auguft 20, 1791. BENJAMIN BANNEKER, a free Black, is about 59 years of age: he was born in Balti- more county ; his father an African, and his mo- ther the offspring of African parents. His father and mother having obtained their freedom, were enabled to fend him to an obfcure {chool, where he learned, when a boy, reading, writing, and arithn:etic, as far as double pofition; and to leave him, at their deaths, a few acres of land, upon which he has fupported himfelf ever fince, by means of ceconomy and conftant labor, and pre- ferved a fair reputation. To ftruggle inceffantly againft want, is no ways favorable to improve- ment: what he had learned, however, he did not forget; for as fome hours of leifure will occur, in the moft toilfome life, he availed himfelf of thefe, D[ 4 ] not to read and-acquire knowledge, from writ ings of genius and difcovery, for of fuch he ha¢ none, but to digeft and apply, as occafions pre: fented, the few principles of the few rules oI arithmetic he had been taught at fchool. Thi kind of mental exercife formed -his chief amufe ment, and foon gave him a facility in calculation that was often ferviceable to his neighbours, an¢ at length attra€ted the attention of the Mefirs Ellicott, a family remarkable for their ingenuity and turn to, the ufeful mechanics. It is about three years fince Mr. George Ellicott lent hi Mayer’s Tables, Fergufon’s Aftronomy, Leadbeat ei’s Lunar Tables, and. fome Aftronomic Inftru ments, but without accompanying them with ei: ther hint or inftruction, that might further hi ftudies, or lead him to apply them-to any ufefu refult. hefe books and inftruments, the firft o the kind he had ever feen, opened a new world to Benjamin, and from thenceforward he employ: ed his leifure in Aftronomical Refearches. He now took up the idea. of the calculati ons for an Almanac, and atually completed ar entire fet for the laft year, upon his originalCos J tock of Arithmetic. Encouraged by this firft at- tempt, he entered upon his calculation for 1792, which, as well as the former, he begun and fi- nifhed without the leaft information or affiftance from any perfon, or other books than thofe I have mentioned; fo that whatever merit is attached to- his prefent performance, is exclufively and pecu- liarly his own. I have been the more careful to inveftigate: thofe particulars, and to afcertain their reality, as they form an interefting fact in the Hiftory of Man; and as you may want them to gratify cu- riofity, I have no objeétion to your feleéting them for your account of Benjamin.