Essay Database

Sojourner Truth was one of the earliest and most passionate female abolitionists, for she herself had once been a slave. She came to be known as the nationally known speaker on human rights for slaves and women. Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree between 1797 and 1800 in Hurley, New York. (There is no exact record of her date of birth.) She was one of 13 children born to slave parents. She spoke only Dutch until she was …

…was appointed to the National Freedman's Relief Association in 1864, where she worked diligently to better conditions for African-Americans. She lived long enough to see her people brought to freedom, but never stopped in her efforts to win more equality for them. Right up until her death, in Battle Creek, Michigan, she continued to speak out for her race and died in 1883. She went to her grave a much lamented and beloved figure in abolitionist history.