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The role played by women in the civil rights movement
Women and the civil rights movement
Women and the civil rights movement
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Angelina Emily Grimké Weld was an American political activist, women's rights advocate, supporter of the women's suffrage movement, and besides her sister, Sarah Moore Grimké, the only known white Southern woman to be a part of the abolition movement. While she was raised a Southerner, she spent her entire adult life living in the North. The time of her greatest fame was between 1836, when a letter she sent to William Lloyd Garrison was published in his anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator, and May 1838, when she gave a courageous and brilliant speech to abolitionists gathered in Philadelphia, with a hostile crowd throwing stones and shouting outside the hall. The essays and speeches she produced in that two-year period were incisive arguments …show more content…
The two sisters maintained an intimate relationship throughout their lives, and lived together for most of their lives, albeit with several short periods of separation. Even as a child, Grimké was described in family letters and diaries as the most self-righteous, curious and self-assured of all her siblings. In the biography, The Grimké Sisters from South Carolina, historian Gerda Lerner writes, "It never occurred to that she should abide by the superior judgment of her male relatives or that anyone might consider her inferior, simply for being a girl." More so than her elder sister, Sarah, Angelina seemed to be naturally inquisitive and outspoken, a trait which often offended her rather traditional family and friends. When the time came for Grimké's confirmation in the Episcopal Church at the age of 13, Angelina refused to recite the creed of faith. An inquisitive and rebellious girl, she concluded that she could not agree with it and would not complete the confirmation ceremony. Angelina converted to the Presbyterian faith in April 1826, aged …show more content…
She not only spoke against slavery, but defended women's right to petition: both as a moral-religious duty and as a political right. Abolitionist Robert F. Wallcut stated that “Angelina Grimké's serene, commanding eloquence enchained attention, disarmed prejudice and carried her hearers with her.” Grimké's lectures were critical of Southern slaveholders, but also of Northerners who tacitly complied with the status quo by purchasing slave-made products and exploiting slaves through the commercial and economic exchanges they made with slaveowners in the South. They were met with a considerable amount of opposition, both because Angelina was a female and because she was an abolitionist. Personal
Throughout his life, the only relationship he was able to maintain was with his sister. On the other hand, his relationship with his parents was very strained; At one point he declared that his "entire childhood seem like a fiction"(123) due to his dad’s infidelity.
Rosemarie Zagarri argues in, A Woman’s Dilemma: Mercy Otis Warren and the American Revolution, that Mercy Otis is an extraordinary woman who deserves recognition just like Abigail Adams, Betsy Ross, and any male figure receives. Through the most important parts of Revolutionary America, Zagarri can convey just how important Mercy really is. Expanding from her knowledge of politics to her ability to write, Mercy creates magnificent poems and plays. She is able to stretch away from the idea of women not belonging in politics and not having the same intelligence of men.
When I mention the names Sarah Grimke and Frederick Douglass what comes to mind? Abolitionists? Equal rights activists? Of course, these two individuals are making great strives to fight for what they believe in. The sad thing about it is that we don’t have enough people with the likes of these two. England abolished slavery in 1834 so how long will we go on with this inhumane cruelty toward people. Our country is in a state of denial and if we don’t wake up soon, we will all pay the price. I’m going to discuss a little bit about these two abolitionist speakers, than compare and contrast their roles of rhetoric, morality, ideas, and backgrounds.
However, it wasn’t her education, but watching her father, who was a judge and lawyer, handle his cases, that cause her to become involved in various movements because it was in court with her father that she saw firsthand how women suffered legal discrimination. It was here that she realized that the laws were unfair and resolved to do whatever she could to change them. She used her unique ability to draw from wide-ranging sources in legal areas as well as in political and literary areas. With her knowledge of literature, he created narratives that produced a variety of emotions ranging from delight to destruction.
Not only did she choose to fulfill her goal of abolishing slavery over her desire to marry Israel, someone she cared deeply about, but she also forced her way out of the slave-based society in Charleston and became a Quaker, and then eventually an abolitionist who also felt strongly about equality. First, she was one of the most influential women to speak openly about racial and gender equality during the mid-1800’s. Alongside her sister Nina, Sarah held lectures where she told women about the ludicrous barriers that were set in place to keep women, both white and black, from becoming equal members in society. By doing this, she defied all the people who told her to stop being difficult and just accept how things were in regards to slavery and inequality, which included most of her family, the members of her former Church, almost all of Charleston, and society as a whole. A quote from one of her infamous pamphlets reads, “I address you as a repentant slaveholder of the South, one secure in the knowledge that the Negro is not chatted to be owned, but a person under God…” (Kidd, 323). In order to publicly state this, she had to have a lot of bravery and courage, since there were dangerous consequences involved in the pursuit of equality, especially amongst blacks. This piece of evidence proves that she was a trailblazer who did not let society’s expectations or threats get in her way of fighting for a cause that she felt strongly inclined to believe in. All-in-all, Sarah Grimke was played a pivotal role in the women’s rights movement by exceeding the expectations of women during her time and fighting for the equal rights of slaves as well as all
Even though they are brother and sister and grew up together, they are two people with
Sarah and Angelina Grimké’s radical disillusionment concerning racial inequality originated during the earliest years of their childhood. The Grimké sisters were born into a prominent slaveholding family in Charleston, South Carolina, and were raised on a wealthy plantation during the antebellum period. Their father, Judge John Faucheraud Grimké, was a respected lawyer, politician, and member of South Carolina’s exclusive plantation society. As an esteemed and affluent representative of this firmly established social system, John Grimké characteristically owned hundreds of slaves. Thus, the Grimké sisters personally witnessed the evils of slavery as an institution on a regular basis during their formative years. Although most children of
Sister’s perspective is very self-centered and designed to manipulate the reader for selfish purposes. When the story first begins, Sister is trying to get the reader to see that “Of course [she] went with Mr., Whitaker first…and Stella Rondo broke [them up].” Sister wants the readers to know this piece of information so we will think she is a victim in the story. This is a way of getting us, the readers, on “her side” so we will begin to think like her and dislike the person or people that she dislikes.
Angelina Grimke and Sojourner Truth were both prominent American civil rights activists of the 19th century who focused on the abolition of slavery and women’s rights issues, respectively. While both of these women challenged the societal beliefs of the United States at the time regarding these civil rights issues, the rhetorical strategies used by each of these women to not only illustrate their respective arguments but also to raise social awareness of these issues was approached in very different fashions. Angelina Grimke promoted the use of white middle-class women’s positions in the household to try to influence the decision makers, or men, around them. On the other hand, Sojourner Truth, a former slave turned women’s rights activist,
All they had ever known was being a "them" and when they were together things just seemed to be right. How blindly we see things when we are surrounded by the arms of the one we love. She was young and curious and being the only women there she was very
for the rights of women, and she even brought her own family into the rebellion to assist her in
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, along with many other women, packed into a convention on a hot July day to all fight for a common cause; their rights. At the first Women’s Rights convention, Stanton gave a heroic speech that motivated the fight for the cause to be even stronger. Through Stanton’s appliances of rhetorical devices such as emotional, logical, and ethical appeals, she was able to her win her point, change the opinions of many, and persuade people to follow her.
In Sojourner Truth’s speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” and Frederick Douglass’ “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” use rhetorical questions for emphasis, anecdotes to connect with the audience, counterarguments to Christianity’s opposing stance and repetition to force the audience to listen. These contemporaries used similar ways to prove their causes were not only worthy but necessary for society to move forward from its oppressing history. Both of them draw from personal experience, as former slaves. Although neither of them would live to see their goals fully realized, these speeches played an immense role in changing public opinion and they continue to inspire marginalized societies.
The 19th century was a time of great social change in the United States as reflected by the abolitionist movement and the women’s suffrage movement. Two very influential women leaders were Angelina Grimke and Sojourner Truth. Grimke was born a Southern, upper class white woman. She moved to the North as a young woman, grew involved in abolitionism and women’s rights, and became known for her writing, particularly “Letters to Catherine Beecher”. Sojourner Truth was born into slavery as Isabella Baumfree; she escaped to freedom, changed her name, and became an active speaker on behalf of both the abolition and women’s rights movements. Truth’s most famous speech is “Ain’t I a Woman?”. While both Grimke and Truth use a personal, conversational tone to communicate their ideas, Grimke relies primarily on logical arguments and Truth makes a more emotional appeal through the use of literary strategies and speech.
She started out as a guest lecturer speaking out against slavery. Stone was a known as a major abolitionist in the pre-civil war period. At this time, the other Women’s rights leaders wondered if her abolition speaking would take away from their cause.