Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth (c. 1797-1883), American abolitionist and
advocate of women's rights, born into slavery in Hurley, Ulster
Co., N.Y., and originally named Isabella. (She was freed when
New York State emancipated slaves in 1828.) A mystic who heard
voices she believed to be God's, she arrived in New York City in
1829, where she preached in the streets. In 1843, obeying these
voices, she took the name Sojourner Truth and went preaching
along the eastern seaboard. That same year she came into contact
with the abolitionist movement, and for the next few years she
toured the country speaking in its behalf. Encountering the
women's rights movement in 1850, she also added its causes to
hers. During the Civil War she solicited gifts for black
volunteer regiments, and President Abraham Lincoln received her
in the White House in 1864; she later advocated a "Negro State"
in the West. Sojourner Truth continued her speaking tours until
1875. An illiterate all her life, she was nevertheless a
charismatic speaker, who often drew large crowds to her informal
lectures.
Truth, Sojourner \'truth\ . c.1797-1883. American evangelist and
reformer, b. Ulster Co., N.Y. Born a slave with the name
"Isabella;" freed (1827), taking her former "master's" surname
Van Wagener; moved to New York (c.1829), becoming a religious
missionary; adopted the name Sojourner Truth and took to the
road (1843); gained national fame as a preacher for abolition
and woman suffrage; she was appointed counselor with National
Freedmen's Relief Association (1864).
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