Harriet Tubman: A Life Worth Living

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Recommended: The beginning of slavery in America

The 1800’s were a bad time for the United States. A new country and already we had vastly differing opinions on one topic: slavery. People were on one extreme or the other, resulting in heated debates and fights over laws and regulations. A revolutionary of her time and an escaped slave, Harriet Tubman was singlehandedly the most effective Underground Railroad “conductor” there ever was. If it were not for her, many slaves would never have been freed from the institution of slavery. Rebellious and set on attaining her freedom from a young age, she never let anyone keep her in her “place.” The 11th child in a family and illiterate her entire life, she managed to set over 300 slaves free in a period of about ten years. Born on the Edward Brodas Plantation, in Dorchester Country to Benjamin Ross and Harriet Green around 1820, Harriet Tubman was one of the most advancing forces with the Underground Railroad. Originally named Araminta ‘Minty’ Ross, she changed her last name when she married and her first in honor of her mother (Women in History). As a young child, she was put to work as a house servant, taking care of menial chores like cleaning and taking care of babies. She once said, “I was so little that I had to sit on the floor and have the baby put in my lap, and that baby was always in my lap except when it was sleep or when its mother was feeding it (Driggs).” She did not like being forced to babysit every day and nonstop for hours at a time. Many times, she was “loaned” out to other slave owners to do similar work in their houses (PBS). She was rebellious even at a young age; she stole a lump of sugar at the age of seven and proceeded to run away to avoid being punished. She was gone for five days before she su... ... middle of paper ... ...Her feats were truly remarkable; most would not be willing to try any given the chance. Many looked up to Harriet, as countless still do. Her name will live on for many, many years to come. Works Cited Driggs, Margaret Barton. They Called Her Moses. Harriet Tubman.com, n.d.. Web. 6 Dec. 2009. Harriet Tubman. Church of the True Living Waters, n.d.. Web. 6 Dec. 2009. Harriet Tubman. PBS, n.d.. Web. 6 Dec. 2009. John Harper and the Harper's Ferry Raid. West Virginia Division of Culture & History, n.d.. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. Paregoric. University of Maryland Medical Center, n.d.. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Epilepsy Foundation, n.d.. Web. 6 Dec. 2009. Washington, Margaret. Harriet Tubman. American National Biography, Feb. 2000. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. Women in History. Harriet Tubman biography. Lakewood Public Library, 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 6 Dec. 2009.

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