Grimké sisters

Sarah Grimké (1792-1873) and Angelina Grimké Weld (1805–1879), known as the Grimké sisters, were 19th-century American Quakers, educators and writers who supported abolitionism and women's rights.

The Grimké sisters were born in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Sarah Moore Grimke was born on November 26, 1792 and Angelina Emily Grimke was born on November 26, 1805. They traveled in the North, talking about their experiences with slavery on their father's plantation. They were often mocked and laughed at. They both saw that women needed more freedom to help change society. They began helping the women's rights movement.

In 1838, the sisters became the first women to speak at a meeting of the Massachusetts state legislature. They spoke about slavery and abolitionism. People were very shocked. They helped attract thousands of women in New England to the movement. Many came to hear Sarah and Angelina speak at public lectures.

In 1838, Sarah wrote a paper called "Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women." It answered many questions which were asked in a letter by a group of ministers who did not like the sisters because they had stepped out of their "woman's proper sphere".

When Sarah was 80, she tried to vote. They lived to see the end to slavery, and the beginning of women's rights.

References

Birney, Catherin H. The Grimké Sisters. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1969.
Ceplair, Larry, Editor. The Public Years of Sarah and Angelina Grimké: Selected Writings 1835 - 1839. Columbia University Press, New York, 1989.
- Weld, Angelina Grimké. "Letters to Catharine E. Beecher, in reply to An Essay on Slavery and Abolitionism, addressed to A. E. Grimké (1837)."
- Grimké, Sarah. "Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Woman," addressed to Mary S. Parker, President of the Boston Female anti-Slavery Society, 1838.
Faragher, John Mack, Mary Jo Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many: A History of the American People. 5th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.
Lerner, Gerda, The Grimke Sisters From South Carolina: Pioneers for Women's Rights and Abolition. New York, Schocken Books, 1971 and The University of North Carolina Press, Cary, North Carolina, 1998. ISBN 0195106032
Willimon, William H. Turning the World Upside Down; the story of Sarah and Angelina Grimké. Sandlapper Press, 1972.

Other websites

Letters on the Equality of the Sexes; Letters to Catharine E. Beecher Archived 2011-01-06 at the Wayback Machine Sunshine for Women, 2000.
An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States Archived 2007-06-11 at the Wayback Machine, Sarah Grimké, 1836.
Grimké sisters’ anti-slavery message revived in Massachusetts state house Archived 2008-08-29 at the Wayback Machine NECN.com