Arm in Arm: The Grimké Sisters' Fight for Abolition and Women's Rights

Sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimké were born around 1800 to a wealthy family in Charleston, South Carolina. Their father made his money through the unpaid labor of three hundred men, women, and children enslaved on his plantations and in his homes. Of eleven Grimké children, only Sarah and Angelina took against slavery. As young adults, they moved to Philadelphia and became Quakers. Then they became abolitionists, and next they became some of the first women ever to speak in public in the United States. When critics said that women had no right to speak in public, or to offer opinions about slavery or politics, Sarah and Angelina took up the cause of women’s rights.
After Angelina married abolitionist Theodore Weld, the sisters retired from speaking and began writing and teaching, still working to achieve equal rights for all. After the Civil War they learned that their brother Henry had fathered three sons with his enslaved mistress. They welcomed these mixed-race young men into their close family circle. The nephews and a great-niece continued the sisters’ work, in new ways, into the twentieth century.

Publication date September 2025

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Reviews of Arm in Arm

Kirkus Reviews: "This biography explores the evolution and impact of the Grimké sisters, Sarah (1792-1873) and Angelina (1805-1879), who grew up in a family of enslavers and became prominent abolitionists. As children in Charleston, South Carolina, raised by a mother who parented with “a rod of fear,” the sisters were distressed by how their family members abused enslaved people. Over time, they questioned the morality of holding other people in bondage. Carpenter portrays the deeply entrenched prejudices of the time as a counterpoint to Sarah’s and Angelina’s growing awareness. Although they struggled against internalized messages about women’s inferiority, they found the courage to publish and speak, despite meeting with derisive, misogynistic insults in the press. The sisters stood firm, found fellow activists and supporters, and expanded their fight to include women’s rights. Again and again, the Grimkés broke with social norms, participating in a radicalism that was part of a seismic cultural shift in the lead-up to the Civil War. This relatively short book thoughtfully presents a period of upheaval and change and traces the sisters’ long-lasting impact as well as recent, more critical perceptions of their motivations and behavior that bring welcome nuance to their story. Archival images help readers digest historical details, and excerpts from primary sources capture the sisters’ growth. The author carefully lays a trail of details, weaving them together throughout her account. Informative and insightful. (author’s note, family tree, glossary, source notes, bibliography, further reading and viewing, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)"

School Library Journal: "Sarah (1792–1873) and Angelina (1805–1879) were two of over a dozen children born to the Grimkés, a wealthy and influential South Carolina family that enslaved hundreds of people. These daughters grew to be radical dissidents who rejected their family’s and society’s expectations for young women at the time. Although raised in the Presbyterian faith, early in their lives they converted to Quakerism, adopting their values of abolitionism and equal rights for women. At first, the sisters advocated locally but soon moved to Philadelphia and then the national stage. They initially spoke only to women’s groups, but their audience grew to include a mix of genders, unheard of at the time. The pair were the first women to speak at this level for abolition and the first to tie women’s rights to the movement. They drew frequent criticism for their controversial actions, writings, and speeches, but this only fueled their determination to work for the rights of the enslaved and women, making them all the more famous and in demand. They, along with Angelina’s husband Theodore Weld, opened a school and communal living farm, but ultimately their legacy lies with the fight for abolition and women’s rights, having great influence in both movements. Peppered with black and white images, Carpenter’s understated, straightforward writing is informative and engaging and keeps the pages turning. Her detailed research is documented with extensive source notes. A family tree, glossary, bibliography, and index are included. VERDICT Covering the entirety of the Grimké sisters’ lives, this is a thought-provoking biography of two fierce yet humble abolitionists who deserve more attention than history has given them. Recommended for all libraries. –Karen T. Bilton"

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