The Grimké Sisters Through The Civil War - The Beginning | Sisterhood: SC Suffragists - Episode 2

The Grimké sisters ran afoul of the Quakers as they embraced abolition and engaged in anti-slavery activities without permission. Angelina Grimké wrote a letter to abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, encouraging him to never surrender the cause for anti-slavery. Garrison appreciated Angelina’s letter so much, he had it published in his newspaper, The Liberator. The printing of The Liberator newspaper, with its messages of abolition and anti-slavery, was viewed as radical, and terrified many slave owners in the south. The letter spurned outrage in the Quaker community; Sarah Grimké asked her sister Angelina to withdraw the letter, but Angelina refused. In 1836, Angelina wrote an appeal to the Christian Women of the South, urging Southern women to end slavery by petitioning state legislatures, and their churches.

Back in South Carolina, Angelina Grimké’s name was reviled, so much so that Charleston’s mayor told her mother, Mary Grimké, that Angelina would be arrested and imprisoned if Angelina attempted to visit. In the fall of 1836, the Grimké sisters went to New York, to be trained as anti-slavery lecturers. At first, the Grimkés' speaking events were small, but gradually moved up to larger, more public venues. The Grimké sisters continued to defy gender norms by fighting for anti-slavery and women’s rights, despite growing opposition. As more of the Grimkés’ letters became published in newspapers and books, their popularity in the abolition and women’s rights movements skyrocketed.

Standards

• 5-4 The student will demonstrate an understanding of American economic challenges in the 1920s and 1930s and world conflict in the 1940s.
  • Along with the rest of the world, the United States experienced a boom-and-bust period during the 1920s and 1930s. In the United States, this situation led to significant government intervention to stimulate the economy. Other countries did not follow...
    • 5-4.1 Summarize daily life in the post–World War I period of the 1920s, including improvements in the standard of living, transportation, and entertainment; the impact of the Nineteenth Amendment, the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, and ...
• 8-5 The student will understand the impact of Reconstruction, industrialization, and Progressivism on society and politics in South Carolina in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
  • During the periods of Reconstruction, industrial expansion, and the Progressive movement, South Carolina searched for ways to revitalize its economy while maintaining its traditional society. To understand South Carolina’s experience as represen...
    • 8-5.8 Compare the Progressive movement in South Carolina with the national Progressive movement, including the impact on temperance; women’s suffrage; labor laws; and educational, agricultural, health, and governmental reform.
• USHC-4 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the industrial development and the consequences of that development on society and politics during the second half of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries.
  • Political democracy depends upon the active participation of individuals working through political and economic-interest groups to protect their welfare. To understand how groups in the past have protected their rights, the student will utilize the kn...
    • USHC-4.6 Compare the accomplishments and limitations of the women’s suffrage movement and the Progressive Movement in affecting social and political reforms in America, including the roles of the media and of reformers such as Carrie Chapman Catt...