“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world,” Harriet Tubman once said. Tubman was a revolutionary figure in the fight to end slavery, and helped more than 300 fugitive slaves escape in a course of 19 trips to the south. (PBS, 1,2,3) Her experiences as a slave from her early childhood shaped her personality to be strong and determined. Tubman’s underground railroad was a major stepping stone for solving the major problem of slavery in the South. Harriet Tubman, a major black abolitionist, had a drastic influence on the Underground Railroad because of her powerful leadership, strategies, and fearlessness. Harriet Tubman …show more content…
was fearless in her missions and throughout her life. Born a slave on Maryland’s eastern shore, she endured the harsh existence of a field hand, including brutal beatings (Patterson,1). Tubman also served as a scout, spy and nurse during the Civil War... She returned to the South at least nineteen times to lead her family and hundreds of other slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad (Patterson, 2) Utilizing her intelligence and drawing on her boundless courage, she steered clear of bounty hunters, who were often determined to find her due to the high reward that they would receive if they captured her.
Tubman never allowed a slave to turn back. (Patterson, 1) Achieving this while helping a great deal of people is almost impossible, but Tubman was capable of it because she had no fear. She once proudly pointed out to Frederick Douglass, in all of her journeys she "never lost a single passenger." (PBS, 1). Never losing a fugitive or allowing one to turn back shows her commitment and bravery. Tubman endured many difficulties in her childhood. Having not given up even throughout the countless beatings she had to endure, Harriet used her past life as a fuel for her heroism. Even though she was risking her life, she served as a scout, a spy, and a nurse during the war. These difficult tasks are suited for one who has valor, a perfect fit for Tubman. She put others before herself because she made not one, but 19 trips to help slaves to escape, showing her fearlessness and selflessness. Always ready to stand up for someone else, Tubman blocked a …show more content…
doorway to protect another field hand from an angry overseer. The overseer picked up and threw a two-pound weight at the field hand. This struck Tubman on the head, “which resulted in a debilitating head injury that caused throbbing headaches throughout her life.” (Marron, 3) This experience made it especially risky to attempt and escape her owner, but nonetheless, she did. She followed the North Star by night, making her way to Pennsylvania and soon after to Philadelphia, where she found work and saved her money. (PBS, 3) The next year, Tubman travelled to Maryland and escorted her sister and her sister's two children to freedom, next she rescued her brothers, and finally she returned for her husband, who had married another women. Undeterred, she found other slaves seeking freedom and escorted them to the North. (PBS, 1,2,3) Her bravery and selflessness contributed to the huge impact she made. Her fearlessness was also shown through the trips she made. She returned to help more slaves almost every year, proving her fearlessness. Harriet Tubman used intelligent escape tactics in order to conduct successful trips.
Tubman returned to the South again and again. She devised clever techniques that helped make her "forays" successful, including using the master's horse and buggy for the first leg of the journey (PBS 4). This allowed her to disguise as if she were running errands for her master or she was with her master. People that might have been encountered during the journey would be deterred because of misleading information. In addition to using her masters horse, Tubman also left on Saturday nights. During the 1860s, citizens only were notified of missing or runaway slaves by newspapers, which weren’t placed till Monday morning. Tubman would be long gone by then. (PBS 4) turning about and heading south if she encountered possible slave hunters; and carrying a drug to use on a baby if its crying might put the fugitives in danger. Tubman used a gun to force the slaves to continue with the journey saying, "You'll be free or die." (PBS 4) These strategies that Harriet Tubman used exhibited her intelligence. For example, leaving on Saturday night was a smart decision and showed that Harriet Tubman's strategies aided her in helping slaves escape and contributed to her success. Carrying a gun to threaten fugitives forced slaves to continue their journey to freedom, which is beneficial to them in the end. Although there were thousands of slaves waiting to be freed, Tubman never bit off more than she could
chew. Tubman never conducted runaways in groups that were larger than 15. 15 people were the most that could safely take cover in an out-of-the-way barn, cellar, or ditch. (Sass, 4) Tubman was also a quick thinker who reacted quickly and intelligently when she Tubman used strategies that helped her be successful in helping slaves escape. One key example of this is when she was on a train and there were men who had her runaway notice, which stated that she was illiterate. Using her incredible strategizing, she quickly pulled out a book and pretended to read it in order to prevent any suspicions from the men. (Beal, 12) This exhibits Tubman’s fast reflexes and the ability to stay calm. Tubman also sometimes travelled with chickens, which provided a genuine disguise for her. (Marron 10) She could act as if she is working for her owner, which would not spark questions within the public. These unique characteristics were beneficial to her cause because if she didn’t have intelligent strategies, she would not be able to free the amount of slaves as she did. Harriet Tubman used her intelligence and her gut to take risks that will benefit the group.
He implies that her sudden fame of her tremendous efforts to overcome her racial oppression was strategically planned to help support the movements for equality in labor and civil rights. Tubman gave these social fighters a symbol for their cause. For Tubman, McPherson also investigated the level of truthfulness in her legend, as discussed by her biographers. The author grappled with her medical history of seizures documented through her dictations to those around her who were literate and also through the accounts of others working close to her, saying that these extreme medical issues conflict the writings on her physical and mental strength. Furthermore, comparing Tubman’s seemingly miraculous ability not to get caught with another fugitive slave of the time, Harriet Jacobs, McPherson further suggests that the legend of Harriet Tubman may be nothing more than that. Questioning the validity of Tubman’s “primary” sources allows McPherson to show that her popularized image could feasibly have been exaggerated for political
“ I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.”~Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman sacrificed her life and freedom as well. She organized the Underground Railroad, and freed hundreds of slaves. As if the journey wasn’t difficult enough,stated by the book, Who Was Harriet Tubman, “But the trip was even more dangerous after 1850. That was because the Fugitive Slave Law had been passed.”(pg.56) The Fugitive Slave Law meant that runaway slaves who made it to the free states had to be sent back to their masters. People were allowed to beat the slaves and sell them back into the South too. Even though the situation was tough, Harriet Tubman never gave up on what she thought was
Even from early on she “risked her life to lead hundreds of family members and other slaves from the plantation system to freedom” (“Harriet Tubman”). Once Harriet finally escaped, she felt that it was not enough. She became a conductor on the Underground Railroad and did her very best to give others a better chance at their lives’. For example, rather “than remaining in the safety of the North, Tubman made it her mission to rescue her family and others living in slavery [by] the Underground Railroad” (“Harriet Tubman”). Harriet was dedicating her life to this and took this problem to heart recognizing that everyone is equal and should never be discriminated. Harriet was faced with several challenges along the way such as having “never recovered from the damage done to her brain and skull [from her slave owner]” (“Harriet Tubman”) and also having a very large price on her head for being a fugitive slave. All of these trials shaped Harriet into a stronger, braver person as she watched her footsteps and never let go of her original motivation. Harriet Tubman played a very large role in U.S. history, slavery, and in almost everyone’s lives as she pushed to the end while suffering for the benefit of
The first contribution of Harriet Tubman is that she served as a spy for the union army, because she wanted freedom for all the people who were forced into slavery not just the people she could help by herself. One day Tubman took one of the most dangerous and dramatic roles she helped Colonel James Montgomery plan to free slaves from a plantation along the Combahee River in South Carolina. They helped seven hundred and fifty Negroes into the free lines. The river is now known as the “Jordan River” it is the symbol of bondage and freedom. It is also a sign of significance of the military in America...
Civil rights activist, Harriet Tubman once said, “Always remember, you have within you the strength the patiences, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” (Tubman). Harriet Tubman had the courage to save hundreds of propel through the underground railroad. She had faith in her beliefs, and knew that even though she was risking jail time, she was doing the right thing. Civil disobedience is is when people are trying to bring attention to a law. They break that law knowing that they might go to jail, but to them it is worth it. Harriet Tubman’s involvement in Civil Disobedience was done to influences she chose to participate in Civil Disobedience to protest slavery, and she did achieve success using the controversial method of standing up for what she strongly believes to be right.
“I freed thousands of slaves, and could have freed thousands more, if they had known they were slaves.” (History.com) This Harriet Tubman quote is a great representation of the kind of person she was. Harriet Tubman was a great woman, not only did she escape slavery; she went back several times to save more people. She conducted the Underground Railroad and did great things that have changed our history in one of its darkest times in our history. Being a slave was not easy but that didn’t stop her.
demanded her voice to be heard. Because she believed every person had a right to be free, Harriet Tubman risked her life to save others.
Conducting the Underground Railroad was Harriet Tubman’s greatest achievement for the following reasons.Harriet was taking the biggest risk helping others.This was a big risk she was taking because if they got caught they could all be sold back into slavery.They had to walk until they reach Canada to be safe.There were many different routes they took to escape.They had to walk miles and miles to escape.Harriet lead many slaves to freedom.She helped many of her people escape.She wanted them all to have the right of freedom.Harriet Tubman’s life is important to study because she constantly was doing good work with no benefits.She would always put her life at risk helping
Harriet Tubman was a woman of many jobs and not only did she do them very well, but she did them with love and with God in her heart. She is one of the most influential women in U.S. history.
I believe that Harriet Tubman is a great hero. Here on the plantation, we don’t really hear about much, but we knew of the great Moses. Being a slave in the South, escaping seemed like nothing but a farfetched dream, but Moses gives people like me hope. Mom would always tell us famous quotes that Harriet would use to encourage slaves, things like “We got to go free or die, and freedom’s not bought with dust.” That quote always proved to me how determined Harriet was to bring fugitives up North. No matter the cost, she would go back and forth between the deepest of Southern slave states all the way to the North just to lead people to the safety and freedom they should’ve received when they were born. Harriet risked her life everyday to bring
Harriet Tubman was a selfless woman, who devoted her life to save others. Many other slaves from the South escaped to freedom in the North like Tubman. Many of these people stayed where they were free, frightened to go anywhere near the South again. However, that was not Tubman, she was different. She wanted everyone to have the feeling of freedom that she had newly discovered. Harriet was known “to bring people of her race from bondage to liberty,” (S Bradford et al 1869). Harriet Tubman was known as a hero to lots of people during the Civil War.
It was beyond their thoughts since they perceived true freedom as nonexistent and prejudice forever remaining. She defied this hopelessness and fought for her freedom, including others. In total, Harriet Tubman set three hundred plus slaves free from their misery. She earned the respect of Andrew Coleman- a white man who was a detective and Fredrick Douglass, an infamous abolitionist. Her brain trauma was a disadvantage; yet, she overcame it. The man she trusted stole of her freedom money, but it did not prevent her from trying to reach her goals. Harriet’s leadership and strong will was the other slaves’ motivation. Only Harriet could understand what these people were going through. The amount of respect for Harriet Tubman between the past and present displayed the eminence of her being an extraordinary
She was well respected among the army and was thought of as the best woman for the job. She was tasked with several mission trips where that required her to liberate multiple slaves. Prior to the war Harriet Tubman returned to Auburn, New York where she spoke at ladies’ suffrage gatherings. Other great women in American history were also present at these meetings. For example. Susan B. Anthony was a speaker at several of these suffrage meetings. Youthful Harriet Tubman was harmed when master tasked with her long errands that were suited for someone ways past her age and ability. The flashback of her two sisters being taken away from her and sold off in a slave trade remained in Harriet Tubman’s mind for the rest of her life. As an adolescent, Harriet Tubman had a hardship brought upon her. She was accidently struck with a 20 pound weight tossed by her furious master on her forehead. This event caused her to suffer a serious recuperation as she lived with the inability to remember simple things for the remainder of her life. For the duration of her life she endured deep sleeps, or uncontrolled rest that conquered her all of a sudden as an aftereffect of the damage received by the weight. Rather than conceding to the reality of the unfavorable situation and giving up hope, young Harriet Tubman elected to turn to God, building up a solid
The underground railroad was a system organized to safely move slaves into free states (Coddon). Harriet Tubman was an outstanding abolitionist and black leader of her time. After freeing her whole family from slavery, Tubman’s main concern was the freedom of all slaves. She became well acquainted with many white abolitionists and often received food and shelter from them, while trying to free someone from slavery (Coddon). Most of the Underground Railroad was organized in Philadelphia, where Tubman became acquainted with William Still (Coddon). This was were the first anti-slavery society was established. Still was a black man who was the executive director of the General Vigilance Committee and later became known as “The Father of the Underground Railroad” (Coddon). Since written records were life-threatening to keep, many were burned or not kept at all. Although William Still did say this about Harriet Tubman, “She was a woman of no pretensions; indeed , a more ordinary specimen of humanity could hardly be found...Yet courage shrewdness, and disinterested exertions to rescue her fellow man, she was without equal. (Coddon)” Still encouraged African resistance to slavery, and even taught himself how to read (Turner). He worked nonstop to end race discrimination and, in 1867, he published A Brief Narrative of the Struggle for the Rights of Colored
Harriet Tubman was a very brave and wise individual that helped many slaves escape and fought for African American