Sojourner Truth was born sometime in 1797 in Hurley, New York. Her real name was Isabella Baumfree. Her parents were slaves to a Dutch farmer and had 8 brothers and sisters.
Although Sojourner Truth was not allowed to learn how to read or write, she was a wise woman and had an extraordinary gift of speech.
Her mother taught her three rules that will help her when she was on her own: "never lie, never steal and trust in God"
When Belle was eleven she was sold. She learned to speak in English because of her new master's wife.
After that, she was sold twice and then forced to marry another slave. She had 5 children.
New York State passed a law to free some slaves in 1817, but her master would not free her because he said that if she worked hard enough he would set Sojourner free, so she did her best to get her freedom.
Sojourner Truth washed the dishes, did gardening a lot, harvest the foods, fruits, and vegetables, and did all of that again and again.
When the year that every slave was waiting for {which is the year 1829} her master said she didn't or wasn't working hard enough, so she run away.
A family named Quaker helped to get her freedom. After Belle left, her son was sold when he was five. Peter was now a slave in Alabama, but the law said no slave in New York could be sold to someone in a different state. Belle went to a judge, won the case and got her son back. It was a very important case because a black woman had won.
She went to New York to work as a housekeeper, but when her son became a sailor, she left the city.
In the 1840s, slaves were treated like animals, they had no rights. Many people spoke out against slavery. Sojourner met these people during her travels and decided to become a speaker against slavery and woman rights.
First she changed her name to Sojourner (person who travels from place to place) Truth (because she planned to tell the truth wherever she spoke.
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