Angelina Grimké's Appeal To Christian Women

Angelina Grimké begins her “Appeal to the Christian Women of the South”, by making a call of “fervent prayer” which should be preceded with in a “calm” spirit (1). She immediately dissects the social norm of slavery, through preaching “unwelcome truths” (2). Her first blow to the cause is by comparing the situation of slavery to the root theme of “liberty” and “equality”, within America’s doctrine (2). Then she uses the biblical references to bring to light a “test” of morals (3). She does this in the hope of backing her “appeal” to the “faith” and “practice” of American’s regarding slavery (3). Grimké’s first defense is that Adam was created to have “power” of “things under” him (3). A slave is not a “thing”, but rather a “person” and thus
Ultimately it is women who must dare to respond to the injustice of slavery because they are near to “those who make” the laws (16). This importance is demonstrated by sharing stories of powerful women. Grimké shows that “it was a woman!” who has been the root of a changed the world (21). These various women were alike in that they singularly spoke “boldly” and “fiercely” to oppressors (20). Thus Southern women must “dare” to approach slavery by paralleling these historic women, through “speaking” the “truth”
Slaves must be set to “liberty” physically and mentally (18). Thus, if a slave does not choose to leave, women must then work on the “cultivation of their minds” (18). This will free the slave by “enabling” them to acquire their sense of “duty” to “learn” (18). Also, women must “openly” “testify” against “manstealing” if their former slaves are resold (19). Overall, this pushed Southern Women to “obey God” and not “man” (19). Through this they could “save” the United States from “ruin” (25). Mirroring this omnipresent motif, the key point of Grimké’s appeal was to empower Southern Christian women to become abolitionists, and to thus spread the condemnation of slavery through disrupting