Significant Women in History

Angelina Grimke was born on February 20, 1805 in Charleston, South Carolina. Although her father was a slaveholder, she developed a strong dislike for slavery. Along with her sister Sarah, Grimke moved to Philadelphia and joined the Quakers in 1819.

In 1835, Grimke’s letter against slavery was published by William Lloyd Garrison in his newspaper, The Liberator. Afterwards, she published an anti-slavery pamphlet called “An Appeal to Christian Women of the South.” Sarah soon followed suit with publication of  “An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States.” Both pamphlets were publicly burned in South Carolina. Officials also threatened to arrest the Grimke sisters if they returned home.

Grimke then moved to New York and became the first woman to lecture at the Anti-Slavery Society. However, she was attacked by religious leading for doing so because they believe women should not be allowed to speak in public. This caused Grimke to turn her focus from the abolishment of slavery to women’s rights.

In 1838, Grimke married an anti-slavery campaigner named Theodore Weld. They lived together with Sarah in Belleville, New Jersey. She then opened up her own school. 

During the Civil War, Grimke lectured in support of President Abraham Lincoln and continued campaigning for women’s rights until her death on October 26, 1879.