Sarah and Angelina Grinké were two sisters that were born into a family of 14 and were raised on a plantation farm in South Carolina when slavery was at its peak. Their father was Judge John Fauchereaud Grimke, and he was very hard on them and at times even made them pick cotton in the fields. Along with having to experience to some point what slaves do, they had to witness the awful effects on their farm. They were at such a young age so these memories played a role as in why they despise slavery so much. It was in 1819 when their father had gotten sick. Between Sarah taking care of her father and taking him to medical treatments in Philadelphia, she lost focus on hating slavery. Eventually their father had passed away and Sarah had to travel back home to Charleston. When she got home all of her feelings on slavery had eventually came back. She remember how bad it was and how much slaves did not deserve this. In 1821, Sarah converted to quakerism and ended up moving to Philadelphia. Angelina was quick to follow her in 1829. With trying to adapt to the life in Philadelphia it was more than hard on both of them, but that didn't stop them. Angelina had written a personal letter to William Lloyd Garrison, that was published by Garrison. The fellow Quakers did not approve of this letter because women were not allowed to be public speakers and especially on behalf of a major controversial issue. This letter changed the Grimké's sisters views though. They now were considered part of the antislavery movement. Angelina then continued to write and speak on behalf of of the antislavery movement and this started to bring attention to women speaking on important issues, making it another very controversial subject. This outcry caused Sarah to write Letters on the Equality of the Sexes. By the 1830s the Grimké sisters went from being abolitionists to also being apart of women's rights.
“Grimke Sisters.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 25 Feb. 2015, www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/grimke-sisters.htm.
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