In this day and age, a woman never wonders why she is able to vote, be elected to public office and hold the rights that she has today. She never realizes that the opportunities she has were once forbidden and furiously fought over in the 1800's. Furthermore, does one ever contemplate the harsh treatment of individuals in slavery taking place during this time? Living in modern-day America, it is difficult to imagine all this was occurring considering that now, everyone is free. But everyone must realize that "Freedom is not free." It took years to acquire women's rights and emancipation, among many other things. In order to provide liberty to every slave and woman deprived of her rights, people have had to step up and initiate action. Many people have died for what they believed in to make others understand how terribly they want the people of our generation to have what they did not. Among all of these people, one woman stands out like black print on white paper. This woman was not afraid to speak her mind and let her thoughts be known to everyone. She, along with others, led a society through a journey of truth. No other woman would fit this description except Sojourner Truth.
Born into a family of slaves, one would never even think about the better lives that they may have had otherwise. In 1787, there were already 700,000 slaves in the US and the number continued to increase. (Franklin 33) Sojourner Truth was born a slave somewhere around 1797 in New York and after trying to escape several times, was set free July 4th 1827. (Russell 79) Like many others, she realized there was a better life ahead of her without being in bondage. .
As early as 1815, there were organized efforts toward aiding fugitives in direct violation of state and federal laws. By 1817, Kentucky slaveholders were protesting over the escape of their slaves in appreciable numbers into Ohio and other free states.