Angelina and Sarah Grimké
Two sisters who believed in equality for all.
Summary Paragraph
Angelina and Sarah Grimké grew up in South Carolina. They quickly realized slavery was a sin, and as soon as they were old enough, they moved to Philadelphia to escape the pro-slavery views of the South. Angelina and Sarah began to publish pamphlets and letters supporting the abolition movement. After many of their writings became well known around the nation (such as Appeal to the Christian Women of the South, a letter published in The Liberator, An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States, and An Appeal to the Women of the Nominally Free States) the Grimké sisters began to make public speeches. Angelina and Sarah took a tour of 67 cities in the North and spoke at churches where they stopped. The last group that the sisters spoke to was the Massachusetts Legislature, which made them the first women to speak for a body of legislators. People grew opposed to Angelina and Sarah Grimké because they were women participating a nationwide movement. When letters reached the Grimké sisters saying that women should not make public appearances, Angelina and Sarah began to also fight for women's equality. Angelina and Sarah Grimké fought for equality of all people until they died.
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | The Abolitionists - Angelina Grimké | PBS
Key Points
- Their cause was fueled by religion
- Some of the first women to speak in front of a legislative body
- Grew up surrounded by slavery.
- Published many writings against slavery and women's inequality
Connection to Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Grimké sisters, Angelina and Sarah, connect to Harriet Beecher Stowe because they were all white women who published different types of writing to work towards the abolition of slavery.
"Appeal to the Christian Women of the South"
In her pamphlet, Appeal to the Christian Women of the South," Angelina Grimké wrote that slavery was a sin, and that Southern women should help to abolish it. The pink shaded region of the map is the area of women that Angelina tried to reach with her pamphlet.
The famous writings of Angelina Grimké
"The Liberator"
The Liberator was pro-abolition newspaper that was published by William Lloyd Garrison. Angelina Grimké wrote a letter to Garrison that was published in this newspaper.