Jesus' Opposition to Slavery
Of all the arguments that Angelina Grimke uses against slavery, Jesus' opposition to it is the primary one. This is in part because of her own strong belief and partly because she knows it is the best argument that will convince other strongly Christian women to oppose slavery. She returns to the theme by way of Jesus' teachings throughout the pamphlet and quotes verses from the Gospel of Luke, in which Jesus teaches that to have one man enslaved to another is against humanity, and a sin. Christianity and slavery are oppositional forces in Angelina's mind and this is why this particular theme is emphasized.
Political Opposition to Slavery
Slavery is in contravention of the Bill of Rights in Angelina's opinion. For this reason, it is basically against everything that the country stands for. There are no circumstances under which one person should be enslaved to another; in fact, the founding fathers stipulated quite the opposite. If something is standing in the way of basic human rights then her contention is that it should be immediately abolished. This is one of the key themes and she returns to it throughout the pamphlet.
Women's Suffrage
As the pamphlet continues, it becomes clear that Angelina is enraged and deeply frustrated by her inability as a woman to change anything via the ballot box. She resents the role given to women at the time, especially because they are not allowed to vote. This makes their legislative efforts seem quite futile. She returns again to the basic human rights afforded to all people in the Constitution, and she is determined to express her feelings in the pamphlet. She suggests many ways in which women can still try to bring about change, and an end to slavery, in almost a power behind the throne manner, by influencing the men of their household.
The Abolitionist Movement
Although Angelina does not mention the Abolitionists as a whole particularly often in the pamphlet, it tenets are underlying throughout and the printing of the pamphlet was paid for by an Abolitionist group. She is one of the foremost lobbyists and noted members of the movement and also has a high profile in the Circle of Friends, although they begin to find her efforts too radical for their sensibilities as her career as a speaker gathers momentum.
