Banneker publicly confronted Jefferson that slavery contradicts the Declaration

Evidence

Benjamin Banneker, a mathematician, inventor, philosopher, almanac compiler, and free Black man from Baltimore, sends then–secretary of state Thomas Jefferson a letter protesting the treatment and condition of “those of my complexion” in the new nation. Two years earlier the U.S. Constitution went into effect, enshrining both the Three-fifths Compromise and the Fugitive Slave Clause. In his letter, Banneker tells Jefferson that the institution of slavery contradicts the ideals in the Declaration of Independence. — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 422

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s case study on origin stories and how the founding ideals vs. slavery contradiction structured American origin narratives.