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Sojourner Truth (Isabella Baumfree) 1797-1883 Abolitionist and Activist

Background Sojourner Truth was born a slave, on a plantation in Ulster County, New York. She was bought and sold numerous times, to many different slave owners. Her last official owner, John Dumont, promised Truth her freedom then decided not to let her go, angering Truth. She then escaped freedom in 1826 with her infant daughter.

Criticisms and Goals As Sojourner saw it, there were many things in the American society she did not agree on. For one she did not believe in slavery. Totally against it and wanted to abolish it, like many others did in that time. Especially with her being an ex-slave, Truth wanted to eliminate slavery all together. She was also a big supporter of women’s rights and pacifism.

Methods to Improve American Life Sojourner Truth especially wanted to improve American’s views on slavery. She hated the face that there was slavery to begin with. She believed it was unfair treatment to be a slave and decided to speak out for the black people. As well as slavery, Truth wanted people’s views on women’s rights to change. She believed women had the same rights as men and felt they needed to be addressed. She found a way to get her message across; public speaking. She gave her most famous speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”, about women’s rights when she attended the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851.

Evaluation Truth was not always successful in things she did. To start out she joined a group, The Northampton Association of Massachusetts, which supports anti-slavery, pacifism, and women’s rights. Unfortunately the group disbanded in 1846, because they were unable to support themselves. Since this occurred she started to expand outward across the nation, speaking to hundreds of audiences about women’s rights and slavery. That is the main way Truth got her name out in society.

Federal Support There were various ways the government could have helped Truth’s causes. For one, the Northampton Association could have used some funding to get the group stared so they could stay active and alive in the society. All the group needed was a little help to get on its feet than it would have been fine. If not that, the government could have helped them with their women’s rights issue and written a document that gave women the same amount of rights as men.

References Fredrick Douglass: He was an abolitionist as well as Truth and was in the same association as Truth, the Northampton Association. Douglass would describe Truth as “a strange compound of wit and wisdom, of wild enthusiasm and flintlike common sense.” William Lloyd Garrison: Truth also knew Garrison from the Northampton Association. He also knew so much about her life and everything she did, because he was the one who published her book, “The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave.”

Bibliography "Sojourner's Amazing Life ... And Beyond The Sojourner Truth Biography." Sojourner Truth Institute. Mishigan Humanities Council. Web. 4 Oct. 2009.

Women in History. Sojourner Truth biography. Last Updated: 3/9/2009. Lakewood Public Library. Date accessed 10/7/2009. .