Women

Details: Category: Women

A former slave, Sojourner Truth became an outspoken advocate for abolition, temperance, and civil and women’s rights in the nineteenth century. She never learned to read or write. In 1850, she dictated what would become her autobiography—The Narrative of Sojourner Truth—to Olive Gilbert, who assisted in its publication. Truth survived on sales of the book, which also brought her national recognition.

Born	Isabella Baumfree c. 1797 Swartekill, New York, United States
Died	November 26, 1883 Battle Creek, Michigan, United States
Occupation	Abolitionist, author, human rights activist
Parent(s)	James Baumfree Elizabeth Baumfree

Although Truth began her career as an abolitionist, the reform causes she sponsored were broad and varied, including prison reform, property rights and universal suffrage. As an itinerant preacher, Truth met abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass. Garrison’s anti-slavery organization encouraged Truth to give speeches about the evils of slavery.

Sojourner Truth: Online Resources

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with Sojourner Truth, including manuscripts, photographs, and books. This guide compiles links to digital materials related to Sojourner Truth that are available throughout the Library of Congress Web site. In addition, it provides links to external Web sites focusing on Sojourner Truth and a bibliography containing selected works for both general and younger readers.

Library of Congress

Olive GILBERT (1801 - 1884) and Sojourner TRUTH (1797 - 1883)

The Narrative of Sojourner Truth is the gripping autobiographical account of Sojourner Truths life as a slave in pre-Civil War New York State, and her eventual escape to Freedom. Since Sojourner could neither read or write, she dictated her story to Olive Gilbert after they met at a Women’s Rights rally. The Narrative was first published in 1850, and was widely distributed by the Abolitionist Movement. It was one of the catalysts for the rise of anti-slavery public opinion in the years leading up to the Civil War. Though Olive Gilbert's writing about Sojourner takes on a patronizing tone at times (a weakness of some Abolitionists), The Narrative of Sojourner Truth remains a moving and historic document, chronicling the struggles of African-Americans under slavery and the life of a truly remarkable woman.

Genre(s): Non-fiction, History

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