1.
How does Angelina Emily Grimke attempt to persuade others to join her cause?
Angelina Emily Grimké, in her "Appeal to Christian Women of the South" (1836), persuades
others to join her anti-slavery cause primarily through moral suasion. She appeals to their
shared Christian faith, emphasizing the spiritual and moral wrongness of slavery. Grimké
addresses her readers as "sisters in Christ," leveraging their common religious beliefs to
underscore the incompatibility of slavery with Christian values. She urges them to recognize
the inherent equality and rights of all people, regardless of race, as a self-evident truth
aligning with the principles of Christianity.
2.
Was this argument effective, do you think? Why or why not?
This argument likely had varying degrees of effectiveness. It was powerful in its appeal to
shared religious and moral values, which were significant influences in that era. However, the
deeply entrenched economic and social systems supporting slavery in the South made it
challenging for such arguments to achieve widespread acceptance. Her approach was
revolutionary in involving women in political advocacy, but the resistance to changing the
status quo, especially in slave-holding regions, would have limited its immediate impact.
Nonetheless, Grimké's appeal contributed to the growing discourse against slavery, planting
seeds of change by invoking common religious and moral principles.
