This dissertation has been G3—6 5 microfilmed exactly as received LEWIS, Ruth Bartlett, 1933- ' ANGELINA GRIMKE WELD. REFORMER. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1962 Speech—Theater University Microfilms,inc., Ann .Arbor, Mich, . Copyright by Ruth Bartlett Lewi ANGELINA GRIMK^ WELD, REFORMER DISSERTATION sented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Ruth Bartlett Lewis, B.S., M.A. ****** The Ohio State University 1962 Approved by <sLSLG Adviser Department of Speech Respectfully Dedicated To Mrs. Carrie Bartlett Dr. Paul R. Brees Professor Karl G. Lind ii PREFACE This dissertation presented several interesting challenges in research. It was necessary to find all of the available published and unpublished materials which pertained to the subject, Angelina Grimke Weld. I wanted to located as much original material as possible. I discussed this matter with my adviser, Dr. Paul A. Carmack. He sug­ gested that I contact the Curator of the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It was learned that this library had original source material con­ cerning the Grimke sisters. Special arrangements were made to survey the material. Plans were then made to make clear reproductions of the manuscripts'. A Wollensack Tape Recorder was used to record those materials which could not be photographed or * microfilmed. A Rolliflex camera, with adaptable portrait lenses was used to photograph materials that could be more accurately read after being enlarged from four to six times - the original size. The remaining materials were microfilmed by the University of Michigan Microfilming Service. Research was continued with the cooperation of the Ohio State University Inter-Library Loan Service. The Director of Historical Research at the Boston Public Library ill in Boston, Massachusetts was contacted by telephone and correspondence. He suggested that I also contact the Director of Special Materials at the State House Library in Boston. I followed his suggestion with a letter to the State House Library. I wish to acknowledge the help given to me by all of those who contributed to the content of-this study. Especially, I wish to thank my adviser, Dr. Paul A. Carmack and the other members of my committee who gave unselfishly of their time and knowledge to the preparation of this dissertation: Dr. Franklin H. Knower, Dr. Keith Brooks, Dr. William E. Utterback and Dr. Erika E. Bourguignon. iv CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ..................... .......... 1 Chapter I. SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES ............ 5 The American Colonization Society Growth of Abolitionism The American Antislavery Society Slavery Becomes a Political Issue II. THE LIFE OF ANGELINA AND SARAH GRIMKfi . 21 Life in Charleston Meeting with Quakers III. THE GRI'MKfi SISTERS ENTER THE FIGHT FOR ABOLITION :................................ Mj The Political Influence of Angelina Grimke Contributions to Women's Rights Death and Eulogy ........................ IV. A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS ......... .. 78 invention Arrangement Delivery Style Correctness Appropria tene s s Rhetorical Question Metaphor Results V. CONCLUSIONS ................................. 112 APPENDIX ’ The Speech of Angelina Grimke before the Massachusetts Legislature January, 1038 . 116 BIBLIOGRAPHY . ............... 121 AUTOBIOGRAPHY ....... .......................... 128 v INTRODUCTION It is the purpose of this dissertation to analyze the rhetorical contributions of Angelina Grimke Weld to the abolition movement in the United States from 1835 to 1838. To accomplish this purpose it is necessary to take several preliminary steps: (l) To briefly trace the history of slavery in the United States through colonization, abolition, and the development of abolition into a political question, (2) To evaluate the influences in the life of Angelina Grimke Weld, which led to the ultimate position which she championed. This shall be done by tracing the early life of both Angelina and Sarah Grimke, following the sisters through their entrance into the abolition movement, by show­ ing the political influence of Angelina within the anti- slavery society and by appraising her contributions to the women’s rights movement. By following a historical analysis of this type, the period in which Angelina spoke will, be clearly indicated; thus the issues which dictated the content of her speeches will be made more meaningful, and will thus contribute to the clarity of the rhetorical analysis. The rhetorical analysis will follow the divisions of rhetoric set forth by Aristotle. These will be developed 1 in the following sequence: (l) invention, (2) organization, (3) delivery, and (4) style. The final portion of the study will be devoted to an analysis of the results of the speaking of Angelina Grimke Weld. This topic will be divided into a discussion of both immediate and long-range results. The final chapter will be devoted to the conclusions which are drawn from the analysis of this speaker. It is felt that this rhetorical study is necessary to (1) show the important part played by rhetoric in this great period of American history, (2) to indicate the role which Angelina Grimke Weld occupied in the antislavery movement in the United States, and (3) to show the important contribution which she made to the campaigns for women’s rights. The period of active speaking for Angelina was a short one indeed, only covering three years. However, in that time it is estimated that she,gave more than 600 lectures on slavery, organized active Female Antislavery societies, was responsible for the collection of more than twenty thousand names on antislavery petitions sent to government bodies, and became the first woman to speak effectively in a public meet­ ing outside of the Quaker church. She- was the first woman in the United States to speak before a state legislature, and was the first woman to vote in a public election. It is felt by this writer that the character and courage exhibited by Angelina Grimke Weld is of vital importance to the history of women’s fight for equality and freedom of speech. She was a pioneer speaker of the reform platform, opening the door of free speech for the female orators who followed. And "To date historians and sociolo­ gists have failed to emphasize the importance of the public platform in the history of women’s rights and emancipation.”^- In claiming the public platform for their use, the pioneer women orators set the precedent for and helped to establish the propriety of women as participants in and not merely spectators of public life. For in 1828 speaking in public by women was an unheard of practice in America, and in i860 it was a common occurrence. .2 Through her intellectual accomplishments and rhetorical ability, Angelina Grimke earned the respect of the men with whom she worked as well as the men she opposed. Such accomplishments, it would seem, justify a study of this pioneer orator. V Before the study is begun it is necessary to recognize certain limitations which confront the author of a histori­ cal-rhetorical analysis. (1) The study must be based on the available evidence and (2) there will be gaps in this evidence. The writer will probably never be able to collect •^•William Norwood Brigance, A History and Criticism of American Public Address, Vol. I (New York: Russell and Russell, 1$6'0), p. 187. (Hereafter referred to as Brigance.) 2Ibid., p. 187. all of the facts pertaining to a specific speaking situation. However/ as Thonssen and Baird have stated: The critic of oratory probably will never be able to secure all relevant historical facts con­ cerning a particular speech. This should not neces­ sarily invalidate his judgment. The facts of an event are "as innumerable as the grains of sand on a stretch of beach." But by connecting known facts, a critic can reconstruct an occasion or Incident with sufficient completeness to make valid judgment possible. That some gaps in the information will be present is almost inevitable.3 The historical gaps in this study exist largely as a result of requests made by the important personages con­ nected with the study. They requested that some of their diaries, letters and manuscripts be destroyed. Enough remains, however, to proceed with the study. -^Lester Thonssen and A. Craig Baird, Speech Criticism (New York: The Ronald Press Co., 19^8). (Hereafter referred to as Thonssen and Baird.) \ CHAPTER I SLAVERY IN THE UNITED STATES Slavery was started in the English speaking colonies sixteen years before the founding of Jamestown in 1619* However, it failed to emerge as a political or moral prob­ lem until the advent of the movements against it. It is not the purpose here to trace slavery in the United States from its beginning to the emancipation act, but to show the development of those essential movements against the insti­ tution. These shall be divided into three areas: (l) col­ onization, (2) antislavery, and (3) political action for abolition. In 1783* Massachusetts had become the first state in the United States to abolish slavery. This had been done with relative ease and with little comment. It is interest­ ing to note, however, that this state was to become one, of the most important battlegrounds against slavery in later years. The following year, 1784, Rhode Island and Connecti­ cut enacted legislation which provided for the gradual emancipation of its slaves. Maryland, Virginia, and'North* Carolina had put an end to their slave trade and under her ■^•William Bimey, -James G . Birney and His Times (New York: D. Appleton and Co., l8$0), p. V. (Hereafter re- ferred to as W. Birney.) 5 law of manumission, Virginia set 10,000 slaves free between 1782 and 1790.^ It might seem that the United States was, at this time, well on its way to solving the slavery issue, but just the converse was true. For each slave that was free, there had to be a job, a place to live, a school where he could learn to write, and to study a trade.