Sojourner Truth Speech
Sojourner Truth: “Ain’t I A Woman” Speech Analysis
Sojourner Truth was an outstanding lady that fought for equality for all Americans, especially blacks and women. She was born a slave in the year of 1797 (“National Women’s History Museum”). She spent the earliest parts of her life on an estate in New York, owned by Colonnel Johannes Hardenbergh (“Sojourner Truth”). There were a series of laws passed in the state of New York including the Gradual Emancipation and the New York Anti-Slavery Law of 1827 (“Museum Open”). Sojourner’s master did not want to free her, so in turn she ran away. During this time is when she changed her name and began to speak out for the rights she felt she was entitled to. One of her most famous speeches occurred during the Women’s Rights Convention which was held in Akron, Ohio in 1851. This iconic speech later became known as, “Ain’t I A Woman.” “Aint I A Woman” is an important piece of history for many reasons. At that time, it was uncommon for African Americans, especially women, to speak out the way Sojourner did. She spoke about things that she encountered on a daily basis. She used her experiences to connect with her audience on a more personal level. She made a statement within her speech saying, “That man over there says that women need to be helped into …show more content…
She repeated, “and ain’t I a woman?” many times throughout the duration of her monologue. Many times it was used once she had made a statement that she knew caused emotions to arise within her audience. Every time she repeated “and aint I a woman?” it was preceeded by a personal experience such as, “I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman?” Statements such as this one showed the amount of inequality between men and women. She painted a picture of just how hard she worked and endured to be seen as equal, only to have it all thrown back in her
Sojourner Truth was an outstanding lady that fought for equality for all Americans, especially blacks and women. She was born a slave in the year of 1797 (“National Women’s History Museum”). She spent the earliest parts of her life on an estate in New York, owned by Colonnel Johannes Hardenbergh (“Sojourner Truth”). There were a series of laws passed in the state of New York including the Gradual Emancipation and the New York Anti-Slavery Law of 1827 (“Museum Open”). Sojourner’s master did not want to free her, so in turn she ran away. During this time is when she changed her name and began to speak out for the rights she felt she was entitled to. One of her most famous speeches occurred during the Women’s Rights Convention which was held in Akron, Ohio in 1851. This iconic speech later became known as, “Ain’t I A Woman.” “Aint I A Woman” is an important piece of history for many reasons. At that time, it was uncommon for African Americans, especially women, to speak out the way Sojourner did. She spoke about things that she encountered on a daily basis. She used her experiences to connect with her audience on a more personal level. She made a statement within her speech saying, “That man over there says that women need to be helped into …show more content…
She repeated, “and ain’t I a woman?” many times throughout the duration of her monologue. Many times it was used once she had made a statement that she knew caused emotions to arise within her audience. Every time she repeated “and aint I a woman?” it was preceeded by a personal experience such as, “I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman?” Statements such as this one showed the amount of inequality between men and women. She painted a picture of just how hard she worked and endured to be seen as equal, only to have it all thrown back in her