Angelina Grimke Abolitionist Movement

Angelina Grimke was a white Southern woman who lived during the nineteenth century. During this time, the abolitionist movement was gaining momentum, especially in the North. As a young adult, Grimke left her luxurious life in the South and moved to the North to fight for civil rights. She quickly became one of the most revolutionary abolitionists of the time. Throughout her time in the public eye, she fought on the side of a multitude causes. Grimke was an advocate for civil rights, suffrage, and the women's rights movement. Nevertheless, her main work was in service to the abolitionist movement. Aside from her sister Sarah, she was the only known Southern white woman to be a leader in the abolitionist movement, and was responsible for putting …show more content…
Neither of them could ignore the suffering around them and both were compelled to take action. Both Sarah and Angelina devoted their lives to racial and gender equality. In 1921, Sarah became a Quaker (Grimke Sisters). She renounced materialism moved North to Philadelphia, leaving her life of luxury behind in order to fight for abolition (Berkin). Angelina and Sarah were separated for years. However, their bond was lifelong and endured the time and space. In fact, eight years later, in 1929, Angelina followed in Sarah's footsteps and moved North (Grimke Sisters). Prior to this move, though, Angelina took a few steps to change her life right where she …show more content…
Along with Sarah, Angelina went on tour. In 1837, they spoke throughout in New York, “filling churches with the sympathetic, the curious, and the hostile (Berkin).” It was at this time that Angelina was noticed as a dynamic and compelling speaker. She easily persuaded her audiences, presenting her argument with tact, eloquence, and intellect. Her “spoken and written words against slavery resonated with listeners and readers (Richardson),” and her writings were mailed all throughout the U.S. Leaders in the South were outraged by her writings, believing that they could cause the slaves to take action. Angelina was faced with much opposition, seemingly coming from all