Sojourner Truth's Essay 'Ain' T I A Women

“And ain’t I a woman?” exclaims the enigmatic persona titled Sojourner Truth. Her words are coated in southern batter and hickish grime. She speaks to a crowd of like-minded individuals, an array of women gathered before her, listening with bated breath, clinging to her relatable dialect. “Ain’t I A Woman?” is a speech that wears a veil of innocence and confidence and purity over its steely passionate cries for female equality. However, its actual conception was not so simple; the speech was first written, and then rewritten to bear the southern drawl that it is famed for, and which made it so relatable to her desired demographic at the time. The speech is an inconspicuous display of effective grammatical systems at work.

On May 29, 1851, Sojourner Truth gave her most famous speech at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio. Truth, being born a slave and escaping to her freedom, was both a women’s rights activist and abolitionist. In a male-dominated society, Truth wanted to gain awareness for the inequalities of women and African Americans during the time period. She makes several claims how African Americans and women are not inferior to the white male population. By targeting those males, Truth portrays them as antagonists and thus gives the women and the African Americans something to focus their struggles on. Sojourner Truth attempts to persuade her audience to support the women’s rights movement and on subtler terms, to support the need for African

Ain't I a Woman?" ,the name given to a speech, delivered extemporaneously, by Sojourner Truth, (1797–1883),she gave this speech to the Women’s Convention of 1851, she speaks on the inequalities that women and blacks faced at that time in America. she uses rhetorical strategies in order to achieve a successful and powerful delivery of her message.Sojourner uses personal experiences to get an emotional response from her audience, connecting with them as both women and mothers.Sojourner Truth uses Anaphora,Logos,Ethos and Rhetorical question in order to rebut opposing arguments for gender equality.

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.

Sojourner Truth once remarked, in reply to an allusion to the late Horace Greeley, "You call him a self-made man; well, I am a self-made woman” (Gilbert, v). This quote digs deeper into the leadership of what Sojourner Truth’s journey was all about. Truth’s greatest commitments for women’s suffrage stood alongside of her remark to Greely. No woman was just to be a housewife or slave to her own family, but to be able to enjoy the world as man did. Sojourner Truth was an important figure in American History because she helped create a pathway for the ideas of feminism and the justices of racial equality.

And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and woman who bore him. Man, where is your part? But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, and he is surely between-a hawk and a buzzard.”( 7) Not only did she give speeches but also during the civil war she also, “...put her reputation to work during the Civil War, helping to recruit black troops for the Union Army.”(4) She later again moved on, this time she got to meet the president and talk to him about her beliefs/experiences. In the end Truth died accomplishing so much. Truth is a catalyst for change based on the quote” Truth is remembered as one of the foremost leaders of the abolition movement and an early advocate of women’s rights. Although she began her career as an abolitionist, the reform, property rights and universal suffrage. Abolition was one of the few causes that Truth was able to realized during her lifetime. Her fear that abolitionism would falter before achieving equality for women proved prophetic. The constitutional Amendment barring suffrage discrimination based on sec was not ratified until 1920, nearly for decades after Sojourner Truth’s death.”(4) Truth was an amazing women who will and is always a catalyst for change no matter what someone says about her,

At the 1851 Women's Right Convention in Akron, Ohio Sojourner Truth, delivers a wonderful speech about women’s rights. Her speech is arguing the claim made by ministers that states, “: women were weak, men were intellectually superior to women, Jesus was a man, and our first mother sinned.” Sojourner Truth’s speech is to draw attention to the topic of women’s right. Implying that in this world women need to be helped when it comes to them being outside. For her, it is not even like the stereotype in which they have to be helped, because of her skin color. In her speech, Sojourner supports her claim about how women are treated differently except [especially for her because of her skin color] her by saying, Ain't I a woman.” This implies that she should be treated the same if other women are treated some sort. Which also circulates to the other idea in her speech, how women can do the exact same amount as men. If men can walk over mud the woman can do, they do not need help. If white women were helped then she should be helped as well. Connecting to her phrase “Ain't I a woman.” This idea attributes to both sides of her speech, which were equal rights, and how she should be treated the same as another woman. Allowing her voice to seem more intellectual, Sojourner adds all of the attributes of a woman (having kids, her arms). Which adds more support to her claim of why she is not treated the same as white women or even as a human. Who just happens to be women. Sojourner

Sojourner Truth delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech in 1851 at The Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio. In this speech, Sojourner Truth addresses the convention in order to advocate for the civil rights of women as well as African slaves of the time. She is advocating for black women to be treated with the same respect as the white women of the era. Truth uses examples from a man that spoke before her in her own speech in order to show the fallacies of his words to the convention attendees. Truth uses a variety of rhetorical devices, such as: the plain folk approach, use of logos, pathos, and ethos, and anaphora, in her speech to help develop her point.

Sojourner Truth once declared, at the Women’s Rights Convention in 1851, “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right side up again” (“Sojourner Truth” Encyclopedia). This statement brought a wave of protest from the men in the crowd and left most women with renewed hope for receiving equal rights. Sojourner Truth was a woman’s rights activist and African American abolitionist, on top of being a freed slave. Sojourner Truth had the “worst of both worlds” being that she was African American, and also a woman. She spoke at a countless amount of conventions, largely inspired by Lucrietta Mott. Rather than using weapons, Truth

The ideals in the Declaration were not fulfilled because women did not have equal political or social rights, or even a bare minimum say in the issues that dominated society. Document 1 is a fantastic example of this, and states the inequality in its text- “It is considered improper for women to speak in public.” Published in 1848, it provides context for the Seneca Falls convention that would occur to bring attention to the issue of lack of human rights for women. Women had little to no say in society at the time, which then meant that their words had no value and that their opinions would never be considered as salient as those of men. This can be considered the definition of inequality, thought the Declaration of independence says otherwise. Document 3 makes a similar claim to that of the previous document, that women’s voices held no significance- “...He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.” Women, after marriage, were considered bound to their husbands and his needs. There was no need for a woman to engage in outside activities at that time, and therefore she was to stay home and take care of the children. This meant that women had little opportunity to go as far as men with politically-oriented lives could. This kept in mind, women had a low place in society and had to endure inequality in a ‘free’ country. Document 1 was published by an education project and brought attention to the many reasons for an instigation of public interest in women’s rights. It lists the many reasons for women to be upset at the empty promises states by the Declaration Of Independence, and quotes a civil occurence to back the authenticity of these claims. This document, as stated previously, provides context for the Seneca Falls convention and the rising intolerance for inequality. It has a large chance of being

Sojourner Truth, born Isabella Baumfree, was a powerful women’s rights activist, an African-American abolitionist, an orator, and a preacher. She is well-known for being an icon for strong black women. Her power and strength did not begin when she became a women’s rights activist. Her bravery and courage began the moment she was born. Truth faced the daily struggles of a black woman in the 1800s.

Sojourner Truth, the writer of An Account of an Experience with Discrimination and speaker of Ain’t I a Women and Speech at New York City Convention, faced many difficulties and oppressive times in her life. She went through several different owners and homes. When Truth got older, she had at least five kids, most of which were sold into slavery, with a slave named Thomas. Truth was granted freedom after the 1828 mandatory emancipation of slaves in New York and finally was emancipated. She began preaching on the streets about her religious life. Truth changed her name from Isabella Van Wagener to Sojourner Truth because she wanted to “sojourn” the land and tell God’s “truth.” She moved to Northampton, Massachusetts to become apart of the abolitionist movement. During this time, the Civil War was occurring. The North was opposed to slavery and the South was for slavery. Truth addressed women’s rights repeatedly. She pointed out that the meetings about women’s suffrage were racially segregated. Truth gave many public speeches throughout Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas. Truth used an approach when giving speeches called rhetorical strategy. She was extremely opinionated and pointed out a good argument about slaves creating the country and receiving no credit for it. She also made a good point when talking about women’s rights: “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world

The first time I heard “Ar'nt I a Woman?” was freshman year of high school, during our annual African-American Heritage assembly. The crowd, always restless and inattentive, chattered and snapchatted away as the speech and presenter were announced. A lanky girl shuffled on stage, folding in on herself as she walked, arrived center stage, and began to speak. As she went on, her spine straightened, her murmurs turned to phrases enunciated so clearly her tongue seemed to be working three times as hard as a normal person’s. By the end of the speech, she had the undivided attention of the audience, all holding their breath because of how passionately and honestly she presented this glimpse into life as a black woman. Both Chapter 4 of A Shining Thread of Hope by Darlene Clark Hine and Kathleen Thompson, and Sojourner Truth’s “Ar'nt I a Woman?” speech serve the same general goal: showcasing the mistreatment of African American Women by society . While Truth’s speech is from her perspective, full of rage and frustration, A Shining thread gives her experiences important context. .

In the early 1800s, most Black women were enslaved, but free Black women participated in the abolitionist cause. Some women like Maria Stewart, Frances E. W. Harper, and Sojourner Truth, spoke out to others about Black women's rights. They were some of the female leaders that put the Black Women's Rights movement into effect. Sojourner Truth was very active in the women's rights movement, and her often quoted 1851 "Ain't I a Woman" speech, nevertheless illustrates how gender oppression has unique repercussions for Black women living under a racist, economically "exploitive" system. Bell Hooks later wrote a book referring to Truth's speech titled, Ain't I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism (See Exhibit: 1). In this book, Bell Hooks examines the effects of racism and sexism on black women, the civil rights movement, and feminist movements from suffrage to the 1970s. She argues that the junction of sexism and racism during slavery contributed to black women having the lowest status and worst conditions of any group in American society. According to Hooks, Black women were stereotyped as promiscuous and immoral.

Sojourner Truth’s words in her speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” served as an anthem for women everywhere during her time. Truth struggled with not only racial injustice but also gender inequality that made her less than a person, and second to men in society. In her speech, she warned men of “the upside down” world against the power of women where “together, [women] ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again!” Today, America proudly stands thinking that Truth’s uneasiness of gender inequality was put to rest. Oppression for women, however, continues to exist American literature has successfully captured and exposed shifts in attitude towards women and their roles throughout American history.