 The almanacs' editors prefaced the publications with adulatory references to Banneker and his race.Editions of Banneker's 1792 and 1793 almanacs contained full or abridged copies of a lengthy commendatory letter that James McHenry, a 1787 signer of the Constitution of the United States and self-described friend of Banneker, had written to Goddard and his partner, James Angell, in August 1791 to support the almanac's publication.As first published in Banneker's 1792 almanac and later given an increased circulation when re-published in "The American Museum, or Universal Magazine", McHenry's full letter began