Sojourner Truth
By: Kaylee McCain
Isabella Baurnfree's childhood experiences created her determination to help abolish slavery once and for all.
In the year of 1797 in Rifton, New York, Isabella Baurnfree was born into slavery as the ninth child of James and Elizabeth Baurnfree. She was first taught to speak Dutch and never learned to read or write, so that made it harder to work for her slave owners who spoke English. As a result of that, when her slave owners began to teach her English, she was quite a slow learner, so they would beat her even more. Also as a child, she was a Christian and knew that the Lord was always looking out for her in her most difficult times, and that is what got her through many horrible situations as a slave. She would also go into any difficult situation with a great amount of confidence because she knew that God was on her side.
The effects of slavery on Isabella Baurnfree.
For many, many years Isabella had suffered from harsh treatment as a slave. Her slave owners robbed her of her independence, her rights, and of her freedom. She was sold time and time again from her family and friends. Isabella was beaten and abused by people because of her skin color, and no one tried to stop it. Because of her skin color, she had to endure a life of misery. She was taken from the man she loved. She even had to sell her own children knowing what they would have to go through, but still no one stopped it. And yet, she still lived life knowing that God was on her side no matter what happened to her. She did her best at respecting her masters and tried so hard to be loyal and honest, to be the best person she wanted to be and to respect her mother wishes of being obedient even though they were separated.
Isabella Baurnfree's escape to fredom.
Isabella wanted her freedom which she was promised by her slave owner, John Dumont. She worked for him for 17 years waiting for him to free her from being a slave, yet he never did. He also did not uphold the New York Anti-Slavery Law of 1827. She was tired of having to suffer for so long and being sold to other people to work for them without pay. For many, many years she was beaten and starved just to do work for people because of her color. So she decided to runaway from her master with her infant named Sophia. Later on she said, " I did not runaway , I simply walked away by daylight... " towards her former master. She went through many thing as a slave: losing most of her children because they were sold into slavery, harsh treatment, no personal liberties, and so much more that are undocumented.
sojourner Truth's decisions and actions against slavery.
After escaping slavery in 1826, she worked on fighting for the end of slavery. She was a remarkable speaker, for she had practice as a preacher. Once she officially began preaching , she changed her name to Sojourner Truth because she wanted a fresh start. She began to speak out against slavery around the country. She spoke in many places teaching people about the horrors of slavery. She also contributed to the National Freedman's Relief Association in order to help others in the south that needed supplies and care. She continued to inform people about the abusive life as a slave. Her memoirs were published in 1850 under the title The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave by William Lloyd who transcribed for her.
Sojourner Truth's impact on Woman's Rights.
Truth realized that not only was slavery a fatal flaw in our nation at the time, but also the lack of women's rights was an issue. She believed that women in America needed to be recognized as a citizen with the same rights as men. In 1850, she spoke at the first National Women's Rights Convention. Then later on in May of 1851, she delivered her most famous speech known as " Ain't I A Women?" at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention. Her speech was not only towards white women, but also for African American women. In order to make even more progress, she joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Massachusetts. She changed the minds of thousands about not only gaining the rights for white women, but for all women of all color.
Sojourner Truth's Major accomplishments in the works of women's rights and the riddance of slavery in the south.
After escaping slavery, she did her best at changing people's thinking towards African Americans' rights and freedoms. She was a front runner in changing the way people identified women's role in society as well. Sojourner Truth was not afraid to stand her ground and fight for what she believed in. From winning a historical court case, to being a powerful leader of the abolitionist movement, and even campaigning for all women's rights, she used her oratory gifts and fearless spirit to stand strong and help create change in the midst of danger and tribulations. Sojourner Truth used her gifts, talents, and experiences to not only help end slavery for African Americans, but also helped all women gain equal rights.