“And Ain‘t I a Woman?”

Sojourner Truth spoke at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851 after several male ministers spoke on how women were too "inferior" and "weak" to vote (Truth 369). Sojourner Truth is a prime example of a strong and powerful woman. After escaping from slavery, she preached God's message around the northeast, eventually preaching antislavery and women's rights as well (Truth 369). She made the most of her life and was an empowered woman. In her speech at the Ohio Convention, Sojourner Truth made a point to the "little man in black", the ministers who had spoken earlier, about what women can or can not do (Truth 370). Sojourner Truth said that she could "work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well!" and then mentioned that she borne thirteen children (Truth 370). If that shows "weak" and "inferior" characteristics, then I do not know what brave and strong people look like. Truth's speech was very effective as she drew on her life experiences to prove the minster men wrong and show them how women are strong and capable. To make sure that the ministers got her point, Sojourner threw in, "Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him" (Truth 370). The ministers got her point.

Ralph Waldo Emerson also spoke at a women's rights convention. He spoke at the Boston Women's Rights Convention in 1855 (Wayne). His wife, his aunt, and fellow Transcendentalist Margaret Fuller urged him to speak (Wayne). He had previously not voiced an opinion for or against women's rights (Wayne). After giving a speech where Emerson hoped "the best women would not seek power through such corrupt avenues as politics and business" and did not clearly say anything for or against women suffrage (Wayne). Emerson never made a public statement on women's rights again. Regardless, his speech was still quoted by women's rights periodicals for the rest of the century (Wayne). Thoreau never gave an opinion on women's rights. The only political thing that he gave voice to was for the abolitionists and antislavery.


Truth, Sojourner. "And Ain‘t I a Woman?." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 368-370. Print.

Wayne, Tiffany K. "'Address at the Woman's Rights Convention'." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. 12 Feb. 2012.