This fascinating biography tells the story of nineteenth-century America through the life of one of its most charismatic and influential characters: Sojourner Truth. In an in-depth account of this amazing activist, Margaret Washington unravels Sojourner Truth's world within the broader panorama of African American slavery and the nation's most significant reform era. Born into bondage among the Hudson Valley Dutch in Ulster County, New York, Isabella was sold several times, married, and bore five children before fleeing in 1826 with her infant daughter one year before New York slavery was abolished. In 1829, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a domestic, preached, joined a religious commune, and then in 1843 had an epiphany. Changing her name to Sojourner Truth, she began traveling the country as a champion of the downtrodden and a spokeswoman for equality by promoting Christianity, abolitionism, and women's rights. Gifted in verbal eloquence, wit, and biblical knowledge, Sojourner Truth possessed an earthy, imaginative, homespun personality that won her many friends and admirers and made her one of the most popular and quoted reformers of her times. Washington's biography of this remarkable figure considers many facets of Sojourner Truth's life to explain how she became one of the greatest activists in American history, including her African and Dutch religious heritage; her experiences of slavery within contexts of labor, domesticity, and patriarchy; and her profoundly personal sense of justice and intuitive integrity. Organized chronologically into three distinct eras of Truth's life, Sojourner Truth's America examines the complex dynamics of her times, beginning with the transnational contours of her spirituality and early life as Isabella and her embroilments in legal controversy. Truth's awakening during nineteenth-century America's progressive surge then propelled her ascendancy as a rousing preacher and political orator despite her inability to read and write. Throughout the book, Washington explores Truth's passionate commitment to family and community, including her vision for a beloved community that extended beyond race, gender, and socioeconomic condition and embraced a common humanity. For Sojourner Truth, the significant model for such communalism was a primitive, prophetic Christianity. Illustrated with dozens of images of Truth and her contemporaries, Sojourner Truth's America draws a delicate and compelling balance between Sojourner Truth's personal motivations and the influences of her historical context. Washington provides important insights into the turbulent cultural and political climate of the age while also separating the many myths from the facts concerning this legendary American figure.

Anti-Slavery Activist

"Biography of Sojourner Truth, a woman born into slavery who, inspired by religion, made herself over into a strong public presence, traveling America in the years between the 1840s and late 1870s, denouncing slavery and advocating freedom, women's rights, and temperance"--OCLC

This fascinating biography tells the story of nineteenth-century America through the life of one of its most charismatic and influential characters: Sojourner Truth. In an in-depth account of this amazing activist, Margaret Washington unravels Sojourner Truth's world within the broader panorama of African American slavery and the nation's most significant reform era. Born into bondage among the Hudson Valley Dutch in Ulster County, New York, Isabella was sold several times, married, and bore five children before fleeing in 1826 with her infant daughter one year before New York slavery was abolished. In 1829, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a domestic, preached, joined a religious commune, and then in 1843 had an epiphany. Changing her name to Sojourner Truth, she began traveling the country as a champion of the downtrodden and a spokeswoman for equality by promoting Christianity, abolitionism, and women's rights. Gifted in verbal eloquence, wit, and biblical knowledge, Sojourner Truth possessed an earthy, imaginative, homespun personality that won her many friends and admirers and made her one of the most popular and quoted reformers of her times. Washington's biography of this remarkable figure considers many facets of Sojourner Truth's life to explain how she became one of the greatest activists in American history, including her African and Dutch religious heritage; her experiences of slavery within contexts of labor, domesticity, and patriarchy; and her profoundly personal sense of justice and intuitive integrity. Organized chronologically into three distinct eras of Truth's life, Sojourner Truth's America examines the complex dynamics of her times, beginning with the transnational contours of her spirituality and early life as Isabella and her embroilments in legal controversy. Truth's awakening during nineteenth-century America's progressive surge then propelled her ascendancy as a rousing preacher and political orator despite her inability to read and write. Throughout the book, Washington explores Truth's passionate commitment to family and community, including her vision for a beloved community that extended beyond race, gender, and socioeconomic condition and embraced a common humanity. For Sojourner Truth, the significant model for such communalism was a primitive, prophetic Christianity. Illustrated with dozens of images of Truth and her contemporaries, Sojourner Truth's America draws a delicate and compelling balance between Sojourner Truth's personal motivations and the influences of her historical context. Washington provides important insights into the turbulent cultural and political climate of the age while also separating the many myths from the facts concerning this legendary American figure.

A biography of Sojourner Truth, who fought for the abolition of slavery and women's rights in nineteenth-century America.

A biography of the former slave Sojourner Truth, who spent most of her adult life as a speaker against slavery and supporter of women's rights.

Goes beyond the myths and legends to reveal new insights into the real life of Sojourner Truth Many Americans have long since forgotten that there ever was slavery along the Hudson River. Yet Sojourner Truth was born a slave near the Hudson River in Ulster County, New York, in the late 1700s. Called merely Isabella as a slave, once freed she adopted the name of Sojourner Truth and became a national figure in the struggle for the emancipation of both Blacks and women in Civil War America. Despite the dual discrimination she suffered as a Black woman, Truth significantly shaped both her own life and the struggle for human rights in America. Through her fierce intelligence, her resourcefulness, and her eloquence, she became widely acknowledged as a remarkable figure during her life, and she has become one of the most heavily mythologized figures in American history. While some of the myths about Truth offer inspiration, they have also contributed to distortions about American history, especially about the experiences of Black Americans and women. In this landmark work, the product of years of primary research, Pulizter-Prize winning biographer Carleton Mabee has unearthed the best available sources about this remarkable woman to reconstruct the most authentic account of her life to date. Mabee offers new insights on why she never learned to read, on the authenticity of the famous quotations attributed to her (such as Ar'n't I a woman?), her relationship to President Lincoln, her role in the abolitionist movement, her crusade to move freed slaves from the South to the North, and her life as a singer, orator, feminist and woman of faith. This is an engaging, historically precise biography that reassesses the place of Sojourner Truth—slave, prophet, legend—in American history.

Discover the remarkable life of Sojourner Truth...Sojourner Truth was born a slave in 1797. One day, she decided she didn't want to be a slave anymore and simply walked away from her master. Truth spent the rest of her life preaching and lecturing against slavery and for freedom and equality. While helping former slaves integrate into a free society, she lectured fervently against the discriminations against women, and especially African American women. Her speech "Ain't I a Woman?" is considered one of the most riveting women's rights speeches ever given. Sojourner Truth demanded that African Americans should have equal rights to support themselves and live independently of the dictates of a master or the government. She didn't just demand her rights, she seized hold of them-such as when she rode the white section of a trolley car. During her lifetime, Sojourner Truth became famous throughout the country, and her funeral in Battle Creek, Michigan, was the largest the town had ever seen. Discover a plethora of topics such as Born a Slave Becoming Sojourner Truth Spiritualism in America Meeting with Abraham Lincoln Ain't I a Woman? Late Life and Death And much more! So if you want a concise and informative book on Sojourner Truth, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!

Discover the life of Sojourner Truth—a story about being bold and brave for kids ages 6 to 9 Sojourner Truth, born Isabella Baumfree, was one of the most important leaders in the anti-slavery movement. Before she fought for freedom and changed American history, she was a young enslaved girl who wanted a better life for herself and for all Black people. She overcame many incredible challenges as she bravely stood up for equality and justice. This chapter book for young readers explores how Sojourner escaped slavery to become one of America's greatest champions for human rights. Independent reading—This Sojourner Truth biography is broken down into short chapters and simple language so kids 6 to 9 can read and learn on their own. Critical thinking—Kids will learn the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of Sojourner's life, find definitions of new words, discussion questions, and more. A lasting legacy—Find out how Sojourner made the world a more equal place for future generations in this African American history book for kids. How will Sojourner's fierce determination and unstoppable spirit inspire you? Discover activists, artists, and athletes, and more from all across history with the rest of The Story Of series - including famous figures like Simone Biles, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Abraham Lincoln, Fred Rogers, and Jane Goodall.

This simple narrative of an extraordinary life explores the power of a disinterested commitment to right and truth. Sojourner Truth: A Biography traces this remarkable woman's life from her birth through adulthood and to her death in 1883. Drawing from public pronouncements, personal correspondence, and journalistic accounts of key historical actors, it follows her extraordinary career and sets the events of her life in the larger context of U.S. social and political history. The years during which Truth lived bore witness to tremendous social and religious ferment in the United States, including, of course, the Civil War. Truth was directly involved, indeed an influential figure, in many contentious issues of the period, from slavery and abolition to religious revivalism, women's rights, temperance, racial reconciliation, and more. Her story serves as a prism through which readers will better understand how these complex matters were adjudicated in 19th-century America. More than that, her life demonstrates what courage, character, and principle can accomplish against all odds.