WK 5 Angelina E. Grimke

Angelina Grimke was originally a southerner but was not in favor of slavery. She writes about how women go about being against slavery when their husbands are the ones that make the laws and enforce the slavery. For her it was an ongoing struggle for civil rights, not just for blacks but for women as well. On page 759 of the Norton Anthology Vol. 1, Grimke describes what she thinks the Christianized manner of character should look like for a woman. Grimke describes a typical womans claim or excuse when women are asked to stand against the things that they know are wrong; that they can't do anything to overthrow the system. "To this [she] replies, [she] knows you do not make the laws, but [she] also knows that you are the wives and mothers, the sisters and daughters, of those who do; and if you really suppose you can do nothing to overthrow slabvery, you are greatly mistaken." In Grimke's Appeal to the Christian Women of the South, she fights hard for the claim that women can do something about the mistreatment of the black slaves. Grimke challenges other women to stand up against their husbands- to take their rights in their own hands. She is a powerful speaker/writer that addresses many issues that were still a big deal even 100 years later.