Sojourner Truth was born in 1797 as Isabelle Baumfree, in Ulster county, New York. She had the misfortune of being born into slavery. But even as a young girl, it was clear that no chains would diminish her greatness.

At 9 years old, the Dutch speaking Sojourner was sold for $100, with a flock of sheep to a cruel enslaver. She quickly learned English, because this enslaver would often punish her for not understanding.

By the age of 13, Sojourner had been sold 2 more times. She spent her final years of enslavement in West Park, New York with an enslaver by the name of John Dumont.

Sojourner fell in love with a young man named, Robert. Sojourner and Robert's relationship was forbidden because they lived on different farms and served two different enslavers. Sojourner was forced to marry a man by the name of Thomas, who she went on to have 5 children with.

In 1825, Dumont promised Sojourner her freedom, if she remained in servitude one more year. Unsuprisingly, Dumont betrayed Sojourner and denied releasing her the following year.

Later that year, Sojourner with her infant child, Sophia, walked off the Dumont land; never to return. Sojourner found refuge with the Van Wagenen's, a Quaker family that detested slavery.

Because of the New York Emancipation Act was being approved, the Van Wagenen's negotiated with an angry Dumont to pay $20 for the rest of Sojourners servitude.

Sojourner was a free woman. Unfortunately, the rest of Sojourner children were still enslaved by Dumont until they were young adults, as stated in the New York Emancipation Act. Sojourner learned that her youngest son had been sold illegally by Dumont to enslavers in the South.

Sojourner, with the help of the Van Wagenens, sued to have her 5 year old son returned to her. After months of a legal battle, Sojourner son was returned to her custody. She became the first black woman in history to bring charges against a white man and win.

While with the Van Wagenen family, Sojourner converted to Christianity. She eventually left the Van Wagenen family and moved to New York City with her son. Where she worked as a domestic, cleaning religious leaders homes.

Sojourner's son went to work on a whaling ship in 1839. They wrote each other but she only received three letters. When the ship took port in 1842, returned he was not on it. She never heard from him again.

Shortly after, Isabelle Baumfree legally changed her name to Sojourner. When it was demanded that she take a last name, she settled on Truth. She took her religious fervor and began traveling giving speeches across the country in support of abolition.

Sojourner drew heavy crowds with her tales of enslavement, lively debates and speeches. She ultimately began writing her book with the help of her friend Olive Gilbert. Her book, "The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave" was published in 1850.

While traveling and working for abolishment, Sojourner became deeply invested in the women's rights movement. She attended a Women's Right Convention in Akron, Ohio (1851), where she performed her now infamously improvised speech "Ain't I A Woman"

"I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart – why can't she have her little pint full? You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much..."

Sojourner Truth eventually settled in Battle Creek, Michigan at the beginning of the American Civil War.

In 1864, Sojourner Truth famously went to Washington, D.C. Where she was received by Abraham Lincoln at the White House. While Sojourner's recalls the experience fondly.