Angelina Grimke was a woman ahead of her time as a lobbyist, creating somewhat of a town hall speaker circuit for herself long before such a thing even existed. Had she lived in the digital age of YouTube and Instagram, she would have been an international sensation; as it was, she gathered considerable momentum each time she spoke about both the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage. Ironically both of the causes that she took up were rooted in the same problem; the enslavement of one group of the population to another.
Angelina was a devout woman whose faith was solid and formed the foundation of her own life and belief system. The more she studied her Bible the more she came to see that Jesus was not only opposed to slavery, but vocal in his opposition to it. Taking her inspiration from him, she became vocal as well, and realized that the most effective way in which to get her fellow Southern women's attention was to appeal to their strong faith and belief in the Lord too. They must not, she reasoned, realize that their tacit support of slavery went against the very teachings that they were devoted and faithful to. If she could just explain to them what Jesus thought of slavery, they, like her, would see that their role was to try to effect change and to continue Jesus' work in His name.
She also used the same logic in the fight to achieve more rights for women - although, voting ability aside, if Angelina came back to visit the world today, she would probably think that the cause of equality for women hadn't really got very far. By explaining to women that they did not have the power to vote out slavery, she hoped to inspire them to think outside the box and to influence those in their life who did have a vote, and a say. In effect, they should use their voices to change what the voices of their fathers, brothers and husbands were saying.
