Comparing Angelina Grimké And Sojourner Truth

The anti-slavery and women’s rights movements of the mid-nineteenth century in America brought forth many voices that had hitherto been silenced by patriarchal institutions. Two such voices, those of Angelina Grimké and Sojourner Truth, became so vociferous they are still heard over 175 years later. Through written and spoken word, Grimké and Truth called for the end of oppression and the beginning of equality. By drawing on the promises listed in the Declaration of Independence, as well as scriptural references from the Bible, both Grimké and Truth established strong foundations for what they viewed as essential human rights. Although two very different women from opposing social backgrounds, Grimké and Truth were both adamant that all Americans,

and humans in general, must be given the same opportunities to become contributing members of society, and that everyone has a role to play in bringing this social reform to fruition.
In her Appeal to the Christian Women of the South in 1836, Angelina Grimké, born into a slaveholding family in South Carolina, addresses her Southern sisters and calls for collective action in order to achieve the complete abolition of slavery and the emancipation of those still enslaved in the Southern states (Browne 59).

In order to convince the readers of her Appeal of the unlawful nature of slavery, Grimké draws primarily on the two texts that have been the foundation of America: the Declaration of Independence and the Bible. She argues first that slavery is “contrary to the declaration of our independence” (Grimké 798), in that slavery opposes the notion that all men are created equal. She contends that “slavery in America reduces a man to a thing, a ‘chattel personal’, robs him of all his rights as a human being, fetters both his mind and body and… throws him out of the protection of the law” (Grimké 798). As such, she argues that slaves have been denied “the first charter of human rights given to Adam, and renewed to Noah” (Grimké 798). Drawing on the Bible, Grimké suggests to her readers that slavery is sinful, that it is a “crime against God and man” (800), and that nowhere is slavery condoned within the Bible. She does not, however, force her beliefs on her readers, but bids them to read scripture and “Judge for yourselves whether he sanctioned such a system of oppression and crime” (Grimké 800). If they should decide that that slavery is a sin, she urges them to

speak out against it and to “undo the heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free” (Isaiah 58.6, Grimké 800). What may be considered her strongest defense of the matter is the sinful nature of oppression, particularly intellectual oppression. Slaves were purposefully uneducated by their masters, were not permitted to learn to read or write, and were therefore unable to engage with the Bible. As Grimké argues: “it is the duty of all, as far as they can, to improve their own mental faculties, because we are commanded to love God with all our minds, as well as with all our hearts, and we commit a great sin, if we forbid or prevent the cultivation of the mind in others, which would enable them to perform this duty” (801). The notion that those who condone slavery are impeding upon the ability of another human being to love God, would doubtlessly have made an impact on the Christian group Grimké is addressing.
It is not just Grimké’s words in this address, but her specific intended audience that makes her Appeal so profound. She is aware that southern Christian women may not be overly receptive to such an appeal, and that they would likely find reason to disregard it and to remain inactive. Women during the 19th century were not encouraged to make themselves known publicly, but were expected to remain in the private sphere of the home, under the authority of the men in their lives (Baym and Levine 798). As such, women likely felt they had little to no agency in their own lives, let alone in producing social change. Grimké disagrees in this lack of ability, stating, “I know you do now make the laws, but I also know that you are the wives and mothers, the sisters and daughters of those who do; and if you really suppose you can do nothing to overthrow slavery, you are greatly mistaken” (Grimké 798). She argues that these women can use their influence in the home to bring about change, by educating themselves on the true legality and morality of slavery, by praying about it, by speaking out on the matter, and by acting out against it (Grimké 799). In doing this, Grimké’s Appeal adds an important element to her abolitionism: feminism. In addressing women, Grimké is giving a voice and a purpose to those previously silenced by men. Women, she argues, are just as able as men in effecting change and overturning the system of slavery so inherent to the current South, and must do all they can to exert this power. As she made clear in many of her lectures on abolition throughout the 1820s and 30s, “if women were to become effective in the abolition movement, they had to free themselves from the social restraints that had kept them numb and silent and learn to speak and act as fully responsible moral beings” (Rossi 287). As Stephen Browne (1999) puts it, it is “an appeal that works by addressing the least empowered and transforms its audience by investing it with resources of agency it already possessed” (81).
Through the anti-slavery movement, feminist abolitionists like Grimké and her contemporaries, began to question their own rights, and, in finding the patriarchy nearly as oppressive as the institution of slavery, began to seek equality for themselves with the Women’s Rights Movement (Baym and Levine, 798; 801, Painter 290). In the years to follow Grimké’s feminist abolitionist Appeal, the call for women’s rights had taken off, and conventions on the matter were widespread and well attended. At one such convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851, Sojourner Truth, an illiterate emancipated slave and self-made preacher, addressed a group of primarily white, educated women (Painter 290). Truth’s speech stemmed from her experience as a slave, and, like Grimké’s address, presented “the causes of antislavery and women’s rights as inextricably intertwined” (Baym and Levine 801). Similar also to Grimké, Truth’s activism drew on both the Declaration of Independence and the Bible (Truth 43). In her Narrative, the story of her life, she accuses the American people in general of being “hypocrites! liars! adulterers! tyrants! men-stealers! atheists! Professing to believe in the equality of the human race – yet dooming a sixth portion of your immense population to beastly servitude, and ranking them among your goods and chattels!” (Truth 43). She also addresses the sinfulness of slavery and slaveholding, particularly by “professing to believe in the existence of a God – yet trading in his image, and selling those in the shamble for whose redemption the son of God laid down his life!” (Truth 44). Truth extended these accusations not just to slaveholders, but to American patriarchy as a whole. America was not just sinning against slaves, but against women as well.
In her speech to the women’s rights convention in Akron, Truth uses similar antislavery arguments to support the rights of women. She calls attention to the notion that this call for equality was for all women, not just middle- to upper-class, educated white women that tended to exemplify the category (Painter 287). She demands to be included in this group, as a poor, illiterate, black woman, who is nevertheless a woman (Painter 287). Truth asserts her position by shining the light on three tenets: women’s physical strength, their intellect, and biblical teachings. She asserts that, as a woman, she has “as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man” (Truth 801). As a slave, she performed the same strenuous labour as the men and proved to be equally able. Should she fit in the category of woman, the “weak woman” argument so often used by gender equality opponents is rendered void. She goes on to counter the notion that women are less intelligent than men, arguing that, if women have lesser capacity for intellect than men, what is there to fear in providing her with sufficient rights to use her intellectual abilities? If it is true women are smaller-minded, how can they intellectually supress men? For, “we cant take more than our pint’ll hold” (Truth 802).
Finally, Truth brings forth her strongest rhetorical device: biblical precepts. A common reasoning for those who did not support women’s rights was that women did not deserve them, as it was a woman (Eve) who brought the world into sin. Truth counters this claim, by simply stating: “if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it rightside up again” (802). She goes on to acknowledge other women of scripture, such as Mary and Martha in the story of Lazarus, pointing to the way in which Jesus respected them and “never spurned woman from him” (Truth 802). Lastly, Truth creates a power effect, and perhaps a little fear, by denouncing man’s role in the birth of the Saviour: “And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and woman who bore him. Man, where is your part?” (802). In essence, she questions why (white) men should be given all of the liberties and opportunities upon which America was founded, when they are no stronger, smarter, or closer to God than any other human being. With her “powerful form, whole-souled, earnest gestures, and … strong and truthful tones,” (Robinson, in Truth 801), Truth proves that she does not need to be a wealthy, educated, white American man to make her voice heard.
Through their strong abilities to assert themselves, Angelina Grimké and Sojourner Truth demonstrated that women had a role to play in the determination of the rights of slaves, as well as their own.

By speaking publicly on these social issues, both Grimké and Truth not only step out of the private sphere in which they were expected to remain, but also refuse to be silenced by the more authoritative American men. Although from very different social groups, both women share the common belief in God that gives credence to their ideas, and allows them, through substantial scriptural evidence, to make strong points in support of equality for all. They both reveal the resources with which change can be effected, and declare that both oppressive systems – slavery and the patriarchy – can and will be demolished. Finally, they both evince that (white) men can no longer go on believing themselves to be the superior social group, as Truth puts it: “Man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on his, woman is coming on him, and he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard”

(802).