Sarah and Angelina Grimke

By: Joe Marrett and Corey Cohn

Biography    Sarah (born on Nov. 26, 1792) and Angelina (born on Feb. 20, 1805) Grimke grew up in one of the south's wealthiest slave holding families. They were born in Charleston, South Carolina. Their father was John Faucheraud Grimke, chief justice of the supreme court of South Carolina and a strong advocate of slavery. This caused many disputes amongst the family as the sisters strongly dislikes slavery, to the point where they took action. When Sarah was twelve years old, she broke the law by teaching an enslaved child how to read and write. At a young age, Angelina wrote a letter to William Lloyd Garrison's famous abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, describing the horrors of slavery that she had seen. The sisters were invited by the American Anti-Slavery Society to New York to speak out against slavery. First, the sisters spoke to small groups of women in their private homes, but more people wanted to hear them. They began to make public speeches in large auditoriums (something not normally done by women of their time period). They were booed at multiple occasions but were unable to be silenced from sending their impassioned message to anyone who wanted to hear it.

Their Movements    The Grimke sisters were actually involved in both the abolitionist and women's rights movements. Abolition is the movement to end slavery by stopping the slave trade and setting slaves free. Some of the earliest protestors to slavery were the quakers, a religious faction which Sarah and Angelina belonged to. It was the Quaker's fundamental belief that the concept of slavery was wrong. Strong abolitionist feeling were present ever since the begging of America, however true opposition only materialized during the 1830s, and continued until the late 1860s, when it was made illegal after the Civil War. During this time period, abolitionist strove for, "Immediate Emancipation," and were essentially trying to free all slaves as well as make slavery illegal. This wasn't totally successful until the Civil War, however the sisters and other abolitionists undoubtedly began to change the viewpoint of the people, creating the spark needed for change. The role of abolitionists were to essentially change the public opinion, and help the issue become more prominent, leading to the Civil War and the emancipation of all slaves. Both sisters were also part of the Women's rights movement, and often speak of expanding women's rights, and empowing them to do things like they had. They broke the boundaries preventing women from speaking publicly. 

Their Contributions and Effects

• Broke the boundaries prohibiting women from speaking publicly, especially in front of men

• Used this to draw many intrigued people to their lectures, bringing more people into the discussion

• Inspired many to start speaking, especially women• Converted many people from being unopinionated to

having a strong opinion against slavery• Fueled a feeling of breaking boundaries, which applied

to both women and slavery• Offered unrivaled insight into the life of slaves - they

grew up on a slave plantation and saw the horrors of slave life.

• Believed that all races could not only be free but could be considered socially equal - was radical at the time and drew even more unique supporters.

• Angelina became the first woman to speak before a legislator in the U.S., speaking against slaver and women's rights - all of these groundbreaking events focused more attention on the cause

• Both lived to see the end of slavery and the beggining of the women's rights movements, both of which they helped become reality

Their Contributions and EffectsCont.

Bibliography• MultiEducator Inc. "Biography of Grimke, Sarah - Emily Angelina." Historycentral.com. 2008. Web.

06 Apr. 2011. http://www.historycentral.com/bio/ant/Grimke. • Picture History and Educational Broadcasting Corporation. "Freedom: A History of US. Biography.

Sarah and Angelina Grimké." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. 2002. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus>.

• The Library of Congress. "African American Odyssey: Abolition, Anti-Slavery Movements." Global Gateway: World Culture & Resources. 2008. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://international.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart3.html>.

• Adams, Anne. "Angelina and Sarah Grimke." History's Women. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://www.historyswomen.com/socialreformer/grimke2.html>.

• "Angelina Grimké Weld's Speech." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2939t.html>.

• Berkin, Carol. "History Now. The Historians Perspective." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History . Home. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://www.gilderlehrman.org/historynow/09_2005/historian4.php>.

• Grimke, Angela. "Grimke's Appeal." Uncle Tom's Cabin & American Culture. Web. 10 Apr. 2011. <http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/abesaegat.html>.