Angelina Grimke Rhetoric

Her pursuit in telling the truth is evident in the lines, “In all things else, I have striven to be true! Truth was the one virtue which I might have held fast, and did hold fast, through all extremity save when thy good--the life--thy fame--were put in question! Then I consented a deception. But a lie is never good, even though death threaten the other side!”

She writes “And here I cannot but take notice of the strange providence of God in preserving the heathen...”

Knowing this, she takes her experience and uses it to write this piece and uses it to spread her message and her feelings toward the topic.

By the early 1800’s, sisters Angelina and Sarah Grimke had already made a name for themselves as anti-slavery abolitionist. Speaking in tents and at religious gatherings. They Used their Quaker faith to help instill an equal mindset. The sisters, who were educators, were also authors. Several of their publications were for the supplication of the rights of African Americans. Written in a pamphlet by Angelina entitled: “Appeal to the Christian Women of the South” she wrote:

The speaker is thinking in a childish manner, caught dwelling on how her “wool winter suit scratched.” (Shore 2) and the idiosyncrasies of her mother. Her attention is consistently darting from object to object, unable to relax her thoughts. Further into the text, feelings of doubt and skepticism emerge. When thinking that she is the chosen one, she questions God’s intentions. “Why would God choose me. . .” (Shore 57) she asks herself. The speaker wonders how could someone so seemingly insignificant and feeble lead a congregation to victory? Then, once feeling empowered by the possibility of her being able to defend her people, a tone of acceptance arises. She gains self-pride and confidence knowing that she is capable of interpreting what is occurring around her. As a Jew, she is aware of what her faith requires of her yet is unsure of how to approach them. During her visit at the synagogue, she began pondering about these responsibilities and how she should fulfill them, thus resulting in the chain of events that led to the acceptance of her obligations to her religion.

The modes of persuasion are noticeably spread throughout all of Mary Ewald's letter to the

Angelina Grimké Weld was an American women rights activist, abolitionist and a leader of the women suffrage movement. She was born in 1805 and spent most her life as an advocate for women rights in the United States. Her most notable works were realized when her article appeared in the local dairies in 1836. In 1838, she notably gave a speech to other abolitionists in Pennsylvania (Weld). The speech was an act of courage since there were protesters outside the hall who were hurling stones. Her speech was incisive towards the end of slavery and advocacy for equal rights among all irrespective of gender. She made the speech since she was against the oppression that was being subjected to women during the early 19th century.

Catherine Beecher's on the "Duty of American Females'' is one example, wherein she responded to Angelina Grimke's address to Southern women to take a stand against slavery, by 'reminding' her that women were subordinate to men, and that Heaven had made it so. In the ''Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Convention'', an excellent

Sarah and Angelina Grimke were the first Southern women to become influential abolitionist, which spoke on the end of slavery; as well as social and political equality for freedmen and women as well. The Grimke sisters stretched the boundary of women’s public role, by giving speeches to audiences with men and women, and by speaking in front of a state legislature about African American rights. Sarah and Angelina broke many of the social and political boundaries subjected on women.

Angelina and Sarah Grimke were two very unique abolitionist leader because they were from the south. However, just because they were in the south didn’t mean they didn’t want change. The Grimke sisters fought for the reform movement to gain black rights and abolish slavery. To achieve and help reach their goals the sister attended the anti-slavery convention in New York. Also to help end slavery William Lloyd Garrison published Angelina Grimke’s letters to him about the experience she had while working with the

Angelina E. Grimke’s Letters to Catharine Beecher is a contrasting response to Beecher’s Essay on Slavery and Abolitionism, which was

In addition to ethos, Fredrick Douglass and Lyndon B. Johnson appeal to their audience’s emotions to persuade them of their points using pathos. Pathos is a persuasive technique in which a speaker uses language that appeals to their audience’s emotions to prove a point. In “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”, Fredrick Douglass says, “Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the constitution and the Bible, which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery-the great sin and shame of America!”. In this quote, the speaker uses a myriad of charged words to denounce American slavery with great emphasis. The charged words and imagery that Douglass uses creates horrid images in the audience’s head and would appeal to

Angelina Weld Grimké was born in Boston, Massachusetts February 27, 1880 to Archibald Henry Grimké and Sarah E. Stanley. As a result, Grimké was born into a rather “unusual and distinguished biracial family” (Zvonkin, para. 1). Her father was the son of a slave and her master, who also happened to be the brother of the two famous abolitionist Grimké sisters: Angelina and Sarah. Grimké’s mother, Sarah, was from a prominent, white middle class family; she left Grimké and her African American husband due to racial pressure from her white family and, as a result, Grimké was raised entirely by her father.

He furthers his description of their relationship when saying that her tender and loving nature fostered a different understanding that helped him realize that, “soft or hard, love was an act of heroism” (61). Like Coates I didn’t grow up with the classic mother and father loving duo. My mother worked hard for my brothers and I while my dad was merely a by stander. This anecdote is a major take away for me because I am able to emotionally relate to the pains he suffered and help me come to light that love is with all of us even in the darkest of times. And for me this was the most powerful message. To be able to be selfless and think about the well being of another creation rather than yourself is the most powerful thing you can do in order to better yourself as a more selfless being and others by helping them

In “An Appeal to the Women of the Nominally Free States”, Angelina Grimke immediately addresses all women as her “Beloved Sisters”, white or black. She establishes her audience right away and attempts to connect them through the powerful use of the sisterhood mentality. She begins to remind all women of their important duties in the world and then questions why women are stripped of political rights and duties solely because they are women, even though they are a crucial part of society. She goes on to explain slavery as a brutish crime “by which man is robbed of his inalienable right to liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the diadem of glory, and honor, with which he was crowned, and that sceptre of dominion which was placed in his hand when he was ushered upon the theater of creation.” (Grimke). Grimke uses this vivid explanation of slavery to connect the oppression of African-Americans to the oppression of women and how women cannot forget that it is their duty to help their fellow oppressed citizens, regardless of their skin color. She says that it is not only their moral duty but also their political duty to act as members of “The Great Human Family”. She then begins to specifically describe how slave women are