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Sojourner Truth
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Sojourner Truth Portrait of Sojourner Truth wearing a headscarf and shawl on the left page, with the title page of her 1850 autobiography, Narrative of Sojourner Truth, on the right.
Why Sojourner Truth Changed Her Name
Sojourner Truth
The journey to women's voting rights and the Nineteenth Amendment
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Sojourner Truth, c. 1870, photograph by Randall Studio. To earn a living, Truth sold her autobiography and portraits like this one. Here, her inscription, "I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance," emphasizes her financial acumen.
Fast Facts About Abolitionism Quiz
Suffragettes with signs in London, possibly 1912 (based on Monday, Nov. 25). Woman suffrage movement, women's suffrage movement, suffragists, women's rights, feminism.
Quick Quiz: Women In The Voting Booth
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Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth To make money, abolitionist and women's rights advocate Sojourner Truth sold cartes-de-visite of herself that bore the caption, “I sell the shadow to support the substance.”

Sojourner Truth

Pioneering advocate against slavery and for women’s rights
Also known as: Isabella Van Wagener
Written by
Tracy Grant
Tracy Grant is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. She previously served as editor in chief, the first woman to hold that title. 
Tracy Grant
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Sojourner Truth was born enslaved and never learned to read or write, and yet, driven by a keen intellect, a sharp-eyed view of the world, and rare oratorical skills, she became one of the preeminent fighters against slavery and for women’s rights in 19th-century America. Sojourner Truth: A Life Her autobiographyUnable to read or write, Sojourner Truth dictated her story to a friend.MPI—Archive Photos/Getty Images Truth was born Isabella Baumfree, the daughter of enslaved parents...

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