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July 1827

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Achievement · politics
Sojourner Truth Escapes Slavery and Begins Life as Free Woman

Isabella Baumfree, later known as Sojourner Truth, escaped from slavery in New York State on July 4, 1827, the date New York's gradual emancipation law took effect, carrying her infant daughter to freedom. She subsequently won a landmark legal case in 1828 to recover her son Peter who had been illegally sold into Alabama, becoming one of the first Black women to win a court case against a white man in the United States. These early acts of legal and personal agency foreshadowed her later career as one of the most powerful voices for abolition and women's rights in American history.

Events

  1. July 1827
    Sojourner Truth Escapes Slavery and Begins Life as Free Woman

    Isabella Baumfree, later known as Sojourner Truth, escaped from slavery in New York State on July 4, 1827, the date New York's gradual emancipation law took effect, carrying her infant daughter to freedom. She subsequently won a landmark legal case in 1828 to recover her son Peter who had been illegally sold into Alabama, becoming one of the first Black women to win a court case against a white man in the United States. These early acts of legal and personal agency foreshadowed her later career as one of the most powerful voices for abolition and women's rights in American history.

  2. July 5, 1827
    Nathaniel Paul Delivers Landmark Sermon on Abolition of New York Slavery

    Nathaniel Paul, pastor of the African Baptist Society in Albany, New York, delivered a celebrated sermon on July 5, 1827 marking the final abolition of slavery in New York State, widely published as 'An Address Celebrating the Abolition of Slavery in New York.' He became an influential transatlantic abolitionist, traveling to England raising funds for Black education in Canada.