Sojourner Truth Chapter 2

Isabella Baumfree was her real name, but she was known as Sojourner Truth. She was an African American born into slavery, but escaped to freedom in 1826. Years later, she joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry. “Founded by abolitionists, the organization supported a broad reform agenda including women's rights and pacifism” “Sojourner Truth”. I included this to show how involved she was. She wanted to make a difference and the only way to do that was to get involved with the people who are in charge. She had strong beliefs supporting women’s rights. Abolition was one of the few changes she addressed throughout her life that she could actually witness happen. Sojourner Truth grew up in a place where everyone was not

John Locke was an English writer, and his writings were based on the events that took place during the Glorious Revolution in England in 1689, when the people of England overthrew King James II. John Locke was interestingly enough, brought up in a loyalist and Evangelical family. He was born to a very wealthy family, and received much prestige in Oxford for his connections to the higher ups. Locke presented his ideas of rebellion during the English civil war which took place in the mid-1600s, in favor of the revolts against the King’s rule in England at the time. John Locke graduated with a degree in medicine from Oxford University.

John Locke was born in 1632, in Wrington, England. He studied medicine at the University of Oxford, but he eventually became the great philosopher everyone remembers him as (Connolly, n.d.). In 1688, King William III, supported by the Whigs, took the throne of England from King James II in what is known as the Glorious Revolution (UK Parliament, n.d.). Locke had a strong connection with the Whigs in England, so he wrote the Second Treatise on Government as a justification for the revolution. Throughout the Second Treatise on Government, Locke claims that an individual is born with the rights to “life, liberty, and property.” He believes that it is the governments purpose to preserve these rights with laws which favor neither the rich nor poor. In addition, these laws must be designed for “the good of the people.” Lastly, “[the government] must not raise taxes on the property of the people, without the consent of the people…” (Locke, 1688)

During the late 1840s, Sojourner acquired a reputation as a powerful speaker. Oliver Gilbert was a friend of the Benson’s and they reached out to him to help write Truth’s Narrative. He started making Truth’s narrative at Northampton and had it published by William Lloyd Garrison. A man by the name of Yerrinton printed Truth’s narrative. Truth was supported through donations and the sale of The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, originally published in Boston in 1850. Strangely, Truth sold her 128-page book for 25¢ per copy. Truth travelled for years at a time and surprisingly she was able to take care of herself, while only producing 25¢ for every book she sold.

" I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail." Said Sojourner Truth during one of her battles for freed slave rights. Truth was born as a slave in which after 30 years she escaped. After she dedicated her life to helping freed slaves get their rights along with women's rights. Sojourner Truth is a hero to not only women, but to everyone because she changed America for women and color people by being brave, determined, and Godly.

Sojourner Truth is now known as a Catalyst for change. When Sojourner was born her name was Isabella Baumfree. However, “On June 1,1843, Isabella Baumfree changed her name to Sojourner Truth, devoting her life to Methodism and the abolition of slavery.”(4) Sojourner to many means to travel. So, you could say that Sojourner Truth was a traveler of Truth. The next major event that makes Sojourner Catalyst for change was “In May of 1851, Truth delivered a speech at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron. The extemporaneous speech, recorded by several observers, would come to be know as “Ain’t I a Woman?” The first version of the speech, published a month later by Marius Robinson, editor of Ohio newspaper The Anti- Slavery Bugle, did

Sojourner Truth was an extremely strong and courageous woman. She proceeded through many hardships and Truth even escaped the bondage from slavery. After that she spoke out for women’s rights and was even the first African American woman to take a white man to court and win. Throughout her eighty six years of life Sojourner Truth she stumbled through numerous hardships, escaped slavery, and spoke out on women’s rights.

The American Revolution was an unequivocal example of the ability of a nation’s people to rise and defeat an inadequate government. When a government fails to protect its inhabitants, citizens will grow uneasy and fight for their rightful cause. The British government’s rule over its colonies was erroneous and harmful to the colonists’ best interests. Best described by John Hancock, the British government’s rule caused many colonists to become despondent with their ruler. “As though they thought it not enough to violate our civil rights, they endeavored to deprive us of the enjoyment of our religious privileges; to vitiate our morals, and thereby render us deserving of destruction.” Evidently, the American Revolution was sparked by a

Leading up to the American Revolution, were a chain of events that created a spark in the colonists to obtain independence from Great Britain. The American Revolution could not be tied to one single event but instead by the feelings and determination brought on by this chain of disgraceful actions. Gordon S. Wood explains what he believes caused the rebellion of the American colonists from Great Britain and how those causes help explain the outcomes of the revolution in his essay, “Radical Possibilities of the American Revolution.” Wood argues that the colonists were motivated to rebel against the British monarchy due to their need to preserve their liberties and through this revolution a radical change in government and American life occurred.

Belle escaped from slavery in New York in 1826. She began as an itinerant preacher and became a nationally known advocate for equality and justice, sponsoring a variety of social reforms, including women’s property rights, universal suffrage and prison reform. Belle became free because she was living in New York when the state outlawed slavery. After she became free, she became a lecturer and gave speeches about what it was like to be a slave. This is when Isabella changed her name to Sojourner Truth. According to Isabella, “God gave her name”. She wrote, “When I left the house of bondage I left everything behind. I wasn 't going to keep nothing of Egypt on me, an ' so I went to the Lord an ' asked him to give me a new name. And he gave me Sojourner because I was to travel up and down the land showing the people their sins and bein ' a

In the United States of America at that time - gasp for liberty was fanned the flame of hope – where people found their liberty and happiness. Samuel Adams was receptive Locke's ideas and led on the perception of America which

Privilege equates to power over others, often leading the powerless to suffer from inequity. Feeling confined in their situations, both author Mary Wollstonecraft and abolitionist Sojourner Truth confront their perceptions of inequity through a critique of sexism towards women. Marry Wollstonecraft’s 1792 essay, “The Vindication of the Rights of Women”, focuses on equality between men and women; a defiant tone outlining society’s tendency to hinder its own advancement by limiting women to singular roles. In activist Sojourner Truth’s speech, “Ain’t I a Woman” from 1851, Truth mirrors Wollstonecraft’s assertions, candidly explicating opposition to the ways society has shaped its ideals concerning women. Despite the expanse of time between the

In this essay I explain the evolution of American attitudes and ideologies—apropos of Britain—from 1764 to 1776. I do so by, first, beginning with providing the context and explaining the state of the relationship between America and Britain throughout the course of the years 1764 to 1774, which in turn, consequently lead up to and instigated the creation of Thomas Jefferson’s 1774 piece entitled A Summary View of the Rights of British America. Next, second, I situate and analyze this very piece, that being: Thomas Jefferson’s A Summary View of the Rights of British America, which is was a tract written before the Declaration of Independence, in which Thomas Jefferson (under his own personal authority/discretion) lays out—for the delegates of the First Continental Congress—a set of grievances directly against the King of England and his corresponding Parliament, and moreover, ultimately radically forewarns and threatens specifically the King of England to fundamentally change, alter, and lessen Britain’s stronghold on America or else something will be done on behalf of America. Finally, third, I reach to and evaluate another subsequent document, that being: the Committee of Five/Continental Congress’ 1776 Declaration of Independence, which is a statement written by the so-called “Committee of Five” (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston) and the Continental Congress, which was to be adopted by the newly formed United States of

Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves, and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia by Woody Holton, inspects life in America leading up to the rebellion from Britain. From big names, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to regular citizens of the colonies, America faces its greatest challenge: will they be able to strike up enough force to remove themselves indefinitely from the British Empire, politically and militarily. While we all know how militias were formed and eventually one army led by General George Washington, the true evolvement and advancement came from the quill and parchment. Just as Martin Luther King once said, “if you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write”.

Over the course of American history, many famous men and women have acknowledged and praised philosopher John Locke for his substantial influence on American thinking. The praise for Mr. Locke is widespread, coming from historians and presidents alike. In fact, James Otis stated that, “…the authority of Mr. Locke has…been preferred to all others” (20). The founding fathers of America drew heavily from Locke’s writings; in fact, he was the second most quoted source – behind only the Bible. Who, though, was this man influencing the thoughts of our founders? Where did his thoughts take their roots? Most importantly, what view of the world did Mr. Locke’s philosophy present?