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The Narrative Of Sojourner Truth

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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. Truth’s first tour on the antislavery and women’s rights circuit was in the winter …show more content…

Truth grew very thankful for Thompson’s manners. They then travelled by train to Rochester were they met former Quakers that were abolitionists and also fought for women’s rights: Amy and Isaac Post. The Posts remained friends with Truth their entire lifetime. Truth lived with the Posts throughout the winter of 1851 and she sold her books at meetings with Thompson in western New York and Ohio. Sojourner then traveled to Salem, Ohio and lived with Marius and Emily Robinson, who had similar beliefs as the Post’s. At the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention Truth made her superb “Ar’n’t I a Women?” speech and startled the audience. The main point of this speech was to show that fighting for equal rights for women with men was not enough. Other women, including African Americans, faced additional obstacles. Truth wanted the participants to not only dedicate their lives to ending sexism but also to assist all people to achieve equality. Truth’s friend and host, Maurice Robinson wrote, “Those only can appreciate it who saw her powerful form, her whole-souled, earnest gestures, and listened to her strong and truthful tones.” He basically says her speech was top-notch and spectacular and …show more content…

She also visited Harriet Beecher Stowe in Andover, Massachusetts. In 1855, the second edition of Narrative a Sojourner Truth was published; Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the introduction. In 1856, Sojourner is invited by Quaker Henry Willis to Battle Creek, Michigan, to address the Friends of Human Progress Convention. After settling in Battle Creek, Michigan, she still spent most of her time lecturing on antislavery and women’s rights circuit. In 1857, Truth moves to Harmonia, which was six miles west of Battle Creek, Michigan. In October 1858, Sojourner was at a meeting in Silver Lake and an audience member accused her of being a male and she bared her breast to the audience to rebuke the accuser. Truth was arrested in 1861 for her own protection against a threatening crowd during her antislavery lecture at Angola,

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