Basic Information

Isabella Baumfree who then changed her name to Sojourner Truth was born in Ulster County, New York in 1797. She is most known for her famous “Ain’t I a Women” speech as well as her contributions to the temperance movement and the abolitionist movement. She also helped fight for property rights of African American people. Truth also contributed to the feminist movement and worked alongside Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Painter, 1994, p. 461).

Background Information

Truth was born into slavery to parents James and Elizabeth Baumfree, an enslaved couple of the Colonel Ardinburgh from the city of Hurley in Ulster County, New York. Colonel Ardinburgh belonged to a class of people called Low Dutch. Truth was considered of unmixed African ancestry (Gilbert, 1998, p.1). In 1810, Truth was enslaved to John Dumont for over seventeen years. While she didn’t particularly come from a religious background, she had prior exposure to religion through the “Lord’s prayer” which her mother taught her in Dutch (Painter, 1990, p. 4).She was the youngest of thirteen children, most of whom she never got to meet because they were sold off when she was a young child (Stowe, 1863, p. 1). Isabella was bought and sold over four times when she was younger beginning at the age of nine and she could only speak in Dutch (Painter, 1990, p. 3).  She also never went to school both in her early or adult life, therefore she never learned to read or write and was considered poor and uneducated. Though she never learned to read or write, she is still very well known for many of her speeches. While enslaved to Dumont she was in an arranged marriage where she had five children, some of which she was never to see when they were taken away and sold off (Stowe, 1863, p.2). In 1827 Truth ran away with her infant baby Sophia to an abolitionist family, the Van Wageners in New York City which enacted a law to free all enslaved persons. The family bought her freedom for twenty dollars and helped Truth fight in court to regain custody of her son Peter, who had been sold illegally to a plantation owner in Alabama (Michals, 2015).

Contributions to the First Wave

After Truth was freed, she then went to work as a housekeeper for 14 years. In 1842 her son who was a worker on a whaling ship failed to return from a voyage; she never heard from him again. After the loss of her son, Truth decided to devote her life to fighting for abolition and equal rights (Painter, 1994, p. 463). Soon after, she went on to work for a minister where she then began to preach about the horrors of slavery and participated in religious revivals, believing that the Spirit called on her to preach the truth thus renaming herself Sojourner Truth in 1843. Sojourner which means traveler, set out to preach around the country fighting for equality and justice (Michals, 2015). In 1844, Truth joined a self-sufficient Community called the Northampton Association of education and industry in Northampton, Massachusetts. Founded by abolitionist, the organization supported many issues such as women’s rights and pacifism (Sojourner Truth Biography, 2018). While Truth was a member at Northampton, she met several leading abolitionists including Frederick Douglass and David Ruggles. In 1850, Truth spoke out at the first national women’s right convention in Worchester Massachusetts, she then began working regularly with George Thompson another well-known abolitionist, speaking to large crowds about slavery and human rights. Truth then delivered her famous “Ain’t I a woman” speech at the 1851 Ohio women’s rights convention. This speech was delivered based on women equality regarding men and discussed the hardships women had to endure while being considered unequal to men. Truth continued to tour from 1851 to 1853 giving speeches all over the country (Sojourner Truth Biography, 2018). Truth was also very active during the Civil War working to gain black troops for the Union army. In 1864, Truth was called to Washington, D.C where she met and spoke with President Lincoln about her life experiences (Painter, 1994, pg.489).

If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.

—Sojourner Truth (Sojourner Truth Biography, 2018).

Analysis and Conclusion

Truth’s contributions helped both men and women. While working to initially end abolition, her contribution to the suffrage movement was monumental. She used her belief in Christianity to support the fight for equal rights for women. Although she was unable to read and write, she made the most of what she had learned throughout her life and gave herself as well as women overall a voice to be heard. While she had come from a different background and had experienced harsh living conditions throughout the course of her life, she used this to fuel her fight for all women. In current times, her speeches continue to be used as an uplifting voice for women of all races. Truth remained in contact and worked closely with Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony until she passed away in 1883.

References

Gilbert, O. (1998). Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Bondswoman of Olden Time, with a History of Her Labors and Correspondence Drawn from Her Book of Life; Also, A Memorial Chapter. Penguin.

Michals, Debra. (2015). “Sojourner Truth.”  National Women’s History Museum. Retrieved from: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sojourner-truth

Painter, N. I. (1990). Sojourner Truth in life and memory: Writing the Biography of an American Exotic. Gender and History, 2(1), 3-17.

Painter, N. I. (1994). Representing Truth: Sojourner Truth’s knowing and becoming known. The Journal of American History, 81(2), 461-492.

(ca. 1864) Sojourner Truth. ca. 1864. [Photography] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/item/98501256

Sojourner Truth Biography (2018). Biography.com Retrieved from: https://www.biography.com/activist/sojourner-truth

Stowe, H. B. (1863). Sojourner Truth. Atlantic Monthly, 473, 481.