Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth (c.1797-1883) was a leading activist, speaker and teacher at the forefront of the African-American struggle for civil rights. Resolutely non-sectarian, she acted as a bridge between issues such as women’s rights, abolition, and religious freedom.

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What did Protestant denominations such as Methodism and Quakerism, or movements such as Spiritualism, offer many American women in the first half of the nineteenth century?

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Women exchanged and disseminated ideas at camp-meetings and conventions. While Sojourner Truth had lasting associates from all denominations, she herself remained resolutely non-sectarian.

On which three occasions did Isabella Van Wagenen/Sojourner Truth bring suit successfully?

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Sojourner Truth’s successful legal activism was all the more extraordinary as she was unable to read or write.

How often are the words ‘slave’ and ‘slavery’ mentioned in the original constitution of the USA?

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The word ‘slavery’ would not be explicitly mentioned until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, in December 1865.

What were some of the main motivations for abolition in northern states, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries?

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Abolition was typically staggered, as concerns among whites over the sudden creation of a free black population led to legal delays and obstruction.

How often are the words ‘slave’ and ‘slavery’ mentioned in the original constitution of the USA?

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The word ‘slavery’ would not be explicitly mentioned until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, in December 1865.

Which issues did Sojourner Truth fight for during the post-Civil War period?

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Resistance to streetcar segregation led by African-American women such as Sojourner Truth and Ida Wells prefigured Rosa Parks’s refusal to vacate her bus-seat for a white passenger, in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. This triggered a huge struggle against racial segregation across southern states.

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How often are the words ‘slave’ and ‘slavery’ mentioned in the original constitution of the USA? They are not mentioned at all.
What were some of the main motivations for abolition in northern states, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries? To reduce competition for the growing white labour supply, to allay fears over slave revolts, and to respond to changing economies in which urban labour was increasingly needed.
What did Protestant denominations such as Methodism and Quakerism, or movements such as Spiritualism, offer many American women in the first half of the nineteenth century? In their insistence on individual freedom, and their scepticism towards church hierarchies and external authorities, these currents provided many black and white women with an unprecedented opportunity to voice and share their own experiences.
Which issues did Sojourner Truth fight for during the post-Civil War period? Universal suffrage, allocations of government land in the West for African Americans, and an end to racial segregation on streetcars in the nation’s capital.
On which three occasions did Isabella Van Wagenen/Sojourner Truth bring suit successfully? To appeal against the illegal sale and removal of her son, Peter, from New York State to Alabama; to clear her name of false accusations of murder, in the Matthias case; and to appeal against a streetcar’s company illegal imposition of racial segregation,
How often are the words ‘slave’ and ‘slavery’ mentioned in the original constitution of the USA? They are not mentioned at all.