Sarah Grimke and Frederick Douglass

When I mention the names Sarah Grimke and Frederick Douglass what comes to mind? Abolitionists? Equal rights activists? Of course, these two individuals are making great strives to fight for what they believe in. The sad thing about it is that we don’t have enough people with the likes of these two. England abolished slavery in 1834 so how long will we go on with this inhumane cruelty toward people. Our country is in a state of denial and if we don’t wake up soon, we will all pay the price. I’m going to discuss a little bit about these two abolitionist speakers, than compare and contrast their roles of rhetoric, morality, ideas, and backgrounds.

They are Sarah Grimke and Frederick Douglass. Sarah was born in 1792 and Frederick was born in 1818. These two individuals are very devoted to abolishing slavery and finding true equal rights but ironically, other than their gender and race difference, they both come from unique backgrounds. Sarah was white and born into a large wealthy family. Her father owned a plantation with slaves and Sarah grew to hate the abuse that the slaves had to endure. She was deeply religious and felt that slavery was against her moral beliefs. She speaks a lot from the bible and believes that men and women were created equal. After the death of her father she moved out of South Carolina and moved up North to pursue a role as an abolitionist and women’s rights activist.

Now on the other had Frederick was born into slavery. He was living in Maryland, born to a white man unknown to him and his mother was also a slave. Frederick pursued how to read and write while being a slave but found that it was an uphill battle, because no slaves were permitted to be educated. Frederick persevered and learned to read and write but prior to his escape up North his moral was very low because being educated as a slave he states, “It had given me a view of my wretched condition, without the remedy. It opened my eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon which to get out”(Narrative of the Life of F.D. Pg 1073 col.2). Can you imagine this; a slave that can now read and write all of a sudden wishes the opposite? It’s tough to stomach the grief that he must have felt during that time.

The beliefs and morals from these two are apparent and coinciding but can you believe the differences in backgrounds? Both individuals are also under heavy heat from pro-slave activists. Each one is also risking their own life to try and make a stand for what’s right. Sarah’s speaking was predominately toward abolishing slavery but seeing that she is a woman, many people have shunned her for her speaking in public about such issues. Many men disapprove of her speaking at public forums therefore she has had no choice but to also pursue an active role for women’s rights. When Frederick first started speaking, people grew weary of his intellect. Since he was now educated, he was questioned if he really was a slave like he was proclaiming. Frederick was a runaway slave so therefore he had to withhold information from the public during his speeches. Now this bothered Frederick, people thinking that he was an imposter but this is where Sarah and Frederick also differ. Sarah was open about her background, coming from a wealthy background as a white feminist, which constantly put her in harms way. However, “In a little less than four years, therefore, after becoming a public lecturer, I was induced to write out the leading facts connected with my experience in slavery, giving names of persons, places and dates. Thus putting it in the power of any who doubted, to ascertain the truth or falsehood of my story of being a fugitive slave”(My Bondage and