sojourner truth's "ain't i a woman?" speech was first written down by frances dana barker gage in may 1863.
sojourner truth's "ain't i a woman?" speech was first written down by frances dana barker gage in may 1863.
when was sojourner truth's "ain't i a woman?" speech first written down by frances dana barker gage?
may 1863
in 1851, truth joined george thompson, an abolitionist and speaker, on a lecture tour through central and western new york state. in may, she attended the ohio women's rights convention in akron, ohio, where she delivered her famous extemporaneous speech on women's rights, later known as "ain't i a woman." her speech demanded equal human rights for all women as well as for all blacks. advocating for women and african americans was dangerous and challenging enough, but being one and doing so was far more difficult. the pressures and severity of her speech did not get to truth, however. truth took to the stage with a demanding and composed presence. audience members were baffled by the way she carried herself and were hesitant to believe that she was even a woman, prompting the name of her speech "ain't i a woman?" the convention was organized by hannah tracy and frances dana barker gage, who both were present when truth spoke. different versions of truth's words have been recorded, with the first one published a month later in the "anti-slavery bugle" by rev. marius robinson, the newspaper owner and editor who was in the audience. robinson's recounting of the speech included no instance of the question "ain't i a woman?" nor did any of the other newspapers reporting of her speech at the time. twelve years later, in may 1863, gage published another, very different, version. in it, truth's speech pattern had characteristics of southern slaves, and the speech was vastly different than the one robinson had reported. gage's version of the speech became the historic standard version, and is known as "ain't i a woman?" because that question was repeated four times. it is highly unlikely that truth's own speech pattern was southern in nature, as she was born and raised in new york, and she spoke only upper new york state low-dutch until she was nine years old.
sojourner truth
frances dana barker gage









































frances dana barker gage (october 12, 1808november 10, 1884) was a leading american reformer, feminist and abolitionist. she worked closely with susan b. anthony and elizabeth cady stanton, along with other leaders of the early women's rights movement in the united states. she was among the first to champion voting rights for all citizens without regard to race or gender and was a particularly outspoken supporter of giving newly freed african american women the franchise during reconstruction, along with african american men who had formerly been slaves.









































section::::early life and education.
frances dana barker gage