Born into slavery, Sojourner Truth was a legendary abolitionist and fighter for equal rights in America. Truth spent the majority of her young life as a slave in New York, suffering from a harsh life that many others had lived through. As she came into adulthood, she was forced into marriage with another slave named Thomas, to whom she bore five children.
At the age of 29, Truth was frustrated and angry with her owners who broke their promise of granting her freedom. At this, with only her youngest daughter Sophia, she walked away from the only life she knew. Truth elaborates, "I did not run off, for I thought that wicked, but I walked off, believing that to be all right."
After this escape from slavery, Truth did not simply leave her children in her past. Instead, with the help of an abolitionist family, the Van Wageners, Truth sued for the return of her young son Peter and won. This victory bolstered her movement to continue fighting for the rights of other slaves.
Sojourner Truth's actions lifted spirits across the states as she would later give speeches supporting women's rights and anti-slavery. Truth would later collaborate with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in her conquest over oppression.
