Term Paper on "Sojourner Truth"

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Sojourner Truth

An Examination of the Life and Contributions of Sojourner Truth

Most people today have never heard of Isabella Van Wagener, but almost everyone has heard of her as Sojourner Truth - and for good reason. Born a slave, Sojourner Truth was a true firebrand and assumed an early leadership role in the struggle for civil and women's rights during a period in American history when it was not only politically incorrect for black women to do so, it was positively dangerous for them as well. Her courage and dedication to these ideals during such a turbulent period, though, helped to ensure her continuing legacy today. This paper will provide an examination of the life and times of this abolitionist and women's rights advocate to illustrate why Sojourner Truth remains an important figure in American history today, followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Background and Overview. Although slave narratives have been characterized in the past as being biased or largely fictionalized accounts, by the 1970s scholars began to recognize that these records represent the most robust firsthand source for information about plantation life during this period in American history (Taylor 1999:xvii). The abolitionist slave narratives written during the genre's golden era; more than 80 such accounts were published between 1836 and the end of the Civil War in 1865; all of these narratives tend to share a large number of common elements. For example, the typical narrative includes a preface describing the story as being a "plain, unvarnished tale"; the first sentence of such accounts usually begin, "I was born..."; further, the plot includes, among other events, a slave auction, the separation of the narrator from his family, an exceptionally strong and proud slave who refuses to be whipped, and at least two escapes, one of them successful; and the narrative concludes with an appendix of some kind (Taylor xvii). Despite these commonalities, though, most of the slave narratives contain a sufficient amount of real-life experiences and unique individual qualities of a person's "voice" that they avoid being formulaic. Following the Civil War, Taylor reports that the slave narratives experienced a fundamental shift in tone.: "The righteousness and anger of the classic narratives were muted," Taylor says, and "the plots ended with the narrator adjusting to newfound freedoms, rather than calling for them from exile; and certain aspects of slave life began to seem quaint, in keeping with the imagery of the Sambo tales and minstrel shows then popular" (xvii). This loss of urgency was due in part to a shift in the purpose of the narratives; rather than trying to convince their audience of slavery's evils, the writers were trying to present a balanced picture of their lives for the education of their audiences, with a concomitant increase in the incidence of progress as a theme over the previous emphasis on freedom (Taylor xvii).

The fact that Truth and the others dictated their narratives is not unusual; what makes them unusual is the fact that they were written at all; before the end of the Civil War, escaped slaves were certainly not representative of the slave population. According to Taylor, in the entire history of the "peculiar institution" in the United States, only 1 to 2% of the slave population managed to escape. As a result, "The narrators thus tended to be unusually brave, physically strong, resourceful, and imaginative individuals" (xvii). A large number of slave narratives, including Truth's, were dictated by the slave to an amanuensis or editor, who was typically a white man. Taylor suggests that although these editors may have taken a good deal of license with the original material by adding their own research or rewriting many parts, by and large they remained faithful to the original narratives as dictated by the escaped slaves. "The function of the slave narrative," according to this author, "is apparently straightforward: resistance to oppression by speaking the truth"-- or, to quote a current catchphrase, "speaking truth to power"; however, this is the central goal, not the only one Taylor adds (xvii). "Considering the great variety of narratives, one might name seven distinct functions: to document the conditions of slavery; to persuade the reader of its evils; to impart religious inspiration; to affirm the narrator's personhood; to redefine what it means to be black; to earn money; and, last but not least, to delight or fascinate the reader" (Taylor xvii). There was much about Sojourner Truth's life that fulfilled all of these functions, a fact that may account for their enormous popularity then and their enduring popularity today; Truth's life is examined further below, followed by an analysis of her impact on American society.

Biographical Details about Sojourner Truth. According to one of her many biographers, Isabella Van Wagener was born the daughter of slaves; consequently, her early childhood was typified by all of the cruelties and brutalities associated with slavery in the Old South (Sojourner Truth 2005:1). The first language she learned was Dutch, and she and a fellow slave (named "Thomas) had at least five children together between 1810 and 1827; she was freed by Isaac Van Wagener just before New York state abolished the state's practice of slavery in 1827. Truth, with the assistance of Quaker friends, even managed to recover one of her sons who had been illegally sold into slavery in the South through the courts. The next two years found Truth in New York City where she supported herself and her two youngest children as a domestic worker (Sojourner Truth 2). Truth's life was to assume a new direction at this point; she had experienced visions and heard voices since childhood, a phenomenon she attributed to God; however, she became associated with Elijah Pierson in New York City and this appears to be the catalyst she needed to take on her new role as an advocate for the newly freed slaves. Truth joined Pierson's Retrenchment Society and eventually his household and preached on the streets of New York City (Sojourner Truth 2).

After many years of these activities, Truth left New York City and assumed the name "Sojourner Truth" in 1843, which she used thereafter. In response to a spiritual call that she "travel up and down the land," Truth sang, preached, and vigorously debated the issues of the day at any setting that would have her, including camp meetings, in churches, and on village streets (Sojourner Truth 3). In all of these settings, Truth admonished her audiences to accept the biblical message of God's goodness and the brotherhood of man. Also in 1843, Truth was introduced to abolitionism at a utopian community in Northampton, Massachusetts; thereafter, she spoke throughout the state in support of the movement (Sojourner Truth 2). In 1850, living up to her name, Truth traveled throughout the Midwest where her reputation for helped her draw large crowds who were inspired by her physical presence and powerful personae.

Part of the fascination with Sojourner Truth in her own time was due to her physical presence. The Detroit Free Press described her as "tall, her head quite small and is set off by a white turban, and as she stands upon the platform, emphasizing her original points and expressions by gestures with her long, bony arms, she presents an appearance at once grotesque and ludicrous, but yet inspiring a degree of respect that commands attention" (see graphic at Appendix a) (Fitch & Mandizuk 4). During this period, Truth supported herself by selling copies of her book, the Narrative of Sojourner Truth, as dictated to Olive Gilbert (Sojourner Truth 3). According to Linda David and Erlene Stetson's book, Glorying in Tribulation: The Lifework of Sojourner Truth (1994), from its 1850 publication, Truth sold copies of her Narrative and during the war, she sold photographs of herself, captioned "I sell the shadow to support the substance." These authors report that, "In a luminous moment, Truth took up the trope of the shadow:

Speaking of shadows, I wish the World to know that when I go among fashionable people in the Church of the Puritans, I do not carry 'rations' in my bag; I keep my shadow there. I have good friends enough to give me clothes and rations. I stand on principle, always, in one place, so everybody knows where to find Sojourner, and I don't want my shadow even to be dogging about here and there and everywhere, so I keep it in this bag. (David & Stetson 9.)

Truth responded to the World's characterization of her as some kind of iterant vagrant who carried "rations" in her bag, roaming the convention floor in the Church of the Puritans by Truth's own image of herself as a figure who enjoyed strong roots in a community of friends, even if they were, she conceded, "fashionable" (David & Stetson 9). The women's rights movement in the early 1850s further inspired Truth to continue her work, and encouraged by other women leaders, particularly Lucretia Mott, she continued to… READ MORE

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