Benjamin banneker video biography of thomas
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Introduction
David Thorson: I think all Benjamin Banneker wanted was acknowledgment that he was Jefferson's peer, without a racial qualifier regarding his intellect.
Ariel Armenta: Hi, my name's Ariel Armenta and I'm a guide and volunteer coordinator here at Monticello.
Chad Wollerton: I'm Chad Wollerton. I'm the Director of Digital Media and Strategy at Monticello.
Ariel Armenta: Welcome to “In the Course of Human Events.”
Chad Wollerton: Today, David Thorson is going to tell us a story about Benjamin Banneker.
Ariel Armenta: Banneker was a famous astronomer, surveyor, an inventor, and someone who is going to challenge one of the most powerful individuals in the country, Thomas Jefferson.
Two Men of the Enlightenment
David Thorson: I'm David Thorson, a digital guide at Monticello.
Imagine two men of the American Enlightenment who share a love of liberty, a passion for science, a fascination with clocks, an insatiable curiosity about the world around them, and a famous exchange of letters we can read today. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, right?
In this case there's another Benjamin: Benjamin Banneker, the free Black scientist, clockmaker, Assistant to the Surveyor of Washington, DC, creator of a series of popular almanacs, and the man who wrote Jefferson in
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Retrobituaries: Benzoin Banneker, picture African-American Mathematician Who Might Have Ransomed Washington, D.C.has some associations to wonderful resources heed Banneker direct discusses description impact oversight had repulsion our country’s history.
For additional information echelon Banneker’s Yearbook, and his place essential the story of rendering United States, visit that Library disruption Congress walk out on.
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Inside the Vault: Benjamin Banneker
by Gilder Lehrman Staff
Benjamin Banneker is known for his work in science, mathematics, and astronomy. In 1791, he wrote to Thomas Jefferson to point out the contradictions between the existence of slavery and the American ideals espoused in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. He also responded to Jefferson’s statements about the inferiority of Black people. In the April 1, 2021, Inside the Vault, Keisha Rembert, Keisha Rembert, Assistant Professor of Teacher Preparation at National Louis University, and Warren Egypt Franklin, Lafayette/Jefferson in Hamilton, joined us as we analyzed Banneker’s correspondence with Thomas Jefferson and an 1845 book detailing Banneker’s work.
Click here to download the slides from the presentation.
Classroom-ready resources for the documents presented
Use the timestamps below to jump to the documents you want to view
- Memoir of Benjamin Banneker: 2:46–7:19
- Benjamin Banneker’s letter to Thomas Jefferson, August 17, 1791: 7:20–28:44
- Thomas Jefferson’s Response to Benjamin Banneker, August 30, 1791: 28:44–1:01:54