The United States stopped importing slaves from Africa in 1808. After that, the majority of African American slaves were born into slavery (Sawyer 15). Many never considered the idea of freedom. Harriet Tubman was an ordinary slave girl with a vision for freedom. Harriet said, “I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.” (“Harriet Tubman”, BrainyQuote.com) The people that Harriet freed were people that actually wanted to be free and knew what freedom was. Harriet Tubman’s desire for freedom led to dangerous, creative means of escape from slavery (“Harriet Tubman”, The Biography Channel website). African American slave, Harriet Tubman, helped shape the course of history through her involvement in the Underground Railroad System, Civil War, and the Abolitionist Movement. Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Dorchester County, Maryland around the year 1820 (Petry 5). No one knows the exact date because her parents were illiterate and there was no birth certificate (Petry 4). Her master was Master Edward Brodas who lived in the big house on the plantation. Harriet had many siblings (Petry 5). She was the fifth child born to slave parents, Harriet Green and Ben Ross. Her “basket name” or pet name was Araminta (Alexander 2). When Harriet was very young, she lived on the Brodas Plantation with her mother and father. The cabins that they lived in were called “quarters” and they had no windows or floors. There was just one room and it was shared with the entire family. They had to sleep on the ground because there was no furniture. The “quarter” was not visible to the owner’s big house. Harriet heard the talk about freedom around the “quarters” and was very fascinat... ... middle of paper ... ... fought American slavery single handed and was a pioneer in the organized effort known as the Underground Railroad.” (Sawyer 113) Harriet Tubman’s life shows that one person can truly make a difference. Works Cited Alexander, Amy. "Harriet Tubman, A Hero In The War For Freedom." Investors Business Daily 7 Feb. 2013: Business Source Complete. Web. 7 February 2014. Beem, Jane A. "Secrets, Codes, and Signals." Appleseeds. March 2004: Print. "Harriet Tubman." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2014. 3 March 2014. “Harriet Tubman.” 2014. The Biography Channel website. 3 February 2014. “Harriet Tubman Timeline.” www.math.buffalo.edu. n.d . Web. 11 February 2014. Petry, Ann. Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad. New York, NY: Armistad Press, 2007. Print. Sawyer, Kem K. DK Biography: Harriet Tubman. New York, NY: DK Publishing, 2010. Print.
“ 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
We know her as the “Moses” of her people; she left a remarkable history on the tracks of the Underground Railroad that will never be forgotten. Harriet Tubman born into slavery around 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland, Harriet Tubman was a nurse, spy, social reformer and a feminist during a period of economic upheaval in the United States. For people to understand the life of Harriet Tubman, they should know about her background, her life as a slave, and as a free woman.
Many people do not know what Harriet Tubman’s greatest achievement was. Harriet Tubman was born in Dorchester County, Maryland around 1822. When she was born she was first named Araminta Ross and was like every other African-American, born into slavery. In 1844 Araminta married a free black man named John Tubman and later changed her name to Harriet Tubman, her first name from her mother and her last name from her husband. Five years later Harriet’s master died which gave Harriet a decision, she could be free or dead. Harriet decided to run, this decision had led herself down a dangerous path. However, Harriet had chosen to help other slaves, by doing so she had accomplished various achievements, but which one was her greatest? During Harriet’s lifetime, she had worked as a nurse, she had created the underground railroad, and had worked as a spy freeing many slaves.
Harriet was never considered a good slave. After her head injury, a neighbor wanted to hire her as a nurse-girl, and her owner was more than willing to let her go. (Taylor 8). Harriet was required to “do all the housework, milk the cows, as well as to be at the side of the cradle every time the little darling cried.” (Taylor 8). Because she wasn't able to be at all places at all times, she was beaten and sent back to her owner with the recommendation, “She don’t worth the salt that seasons her grub.” (Taylor 8). Once Harriet was returned, her owner greeted her with “I will break you in!” (Taylor 8). “From early morn till late at night she was made to work, beaten and cuffed upon the slightest provocation.” (Taylor 8).
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.
“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 word” (brainyquote.com). This quote by Harriet Tubman sums up how the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman worked. Tubman conducted the Underground Railroad and did many great things even in one of our darkest times in history.
In the year 1825 in Maryland a true hero was born. This hero did the impossible. This hero dared to do what no one else would do. This hero devoted her life to making America better. This hero overcame something that no one at the time thought would ever be overcame. This hero is Harriet Tubman. No one since Harriet has devoted their whole life to one thing and overcoming it and making a huge difference, which was slavery. From being a toddler to the day of her death she devoted all of it to making a difference in slavery, and she sure did make quite a difference. From being a slave herself to freeing over one thousand slaves Harriet Tubman is a true hero. Imagining America without having Harriet Tubman in it is a hard thing to do. Harriet changed America into a better place and was one of the main reasons that slavery came to an end. Harriet Tubman overcame slavery by escaping persecution, risking her life, and refusing to give up.
Harriet Tubman was originally named Araminta Ross. She was one of 11 children born to Harriet Greene and Benjamin Ross on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. She later took her mother's first name. Harriet was working at the age of five. She was a maid and a children's nurse before she worked in the field when she was 12. A year later, a white guy either her watcher or her master smacked her on the head with a really heavy weight. The hit was so hard it left her with permanent neurological damage. In result of the hit she had sudden blackouts during the rest of her life.
Harriet Tubman's family and early life transformed her into the heroic person she was. Much of her childhood and early life isn't well known. Her parents were born in Dorchester County, Maryland (Larson 10). Both of her parents were enslaved by unalike owners (Larson 10). Araminta "Minty" Ross also known as Harriet Tubman was most likely born in February or beginning of March on the Thompson Plantation, where her parents were imprisoned (Larson 10). According to the article Housing: Harriet Tubman's Last Work, Harriet Tubman was one of eleven children born into slavery. At the age of thirteen she suffered from an accident when she was trying to help an enslaved man escape to freedom. (Crewe 6). An overseer tried to hit the fugitive but instead hit Harriet in the head (Harriet Tubman). This accident caused a life long disability called somnolence that would make her fall asleep at random times (Crewe 6). It took months for Harriet to recover so her master didn't want her anymore but he could not find a buyer (Harriet Tubman). Although being enslaved did prohibit slaves from doing a lot of things, Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was born in the year 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland. Her parents were Harriet Green and Ben Ross. She is known by the name Harriet Tubman, but her real name was Araminta Ross. She had ten brothers and sisters who helped her with her work. Her family's nickname for her, as said by Elish, was “Minta” (9). She was born into a slave family which meant one thing: she was going to have a difficult life. She was abused and beaten by hard-hearted white people even when she was little. Her most difficult injury to overcome happened when she was only thirteen. A slave started to escape, so her master picked up a brick and threw it at him. Harriet stepped in front of the brick, trying to give the slave a chance to escape, and, in doing so, was hit in the head, knocking her out. Because of this injury, she had seizures and extremely painful headaches her entire life. When she was old enough, she was rented out to the Cook family. They disregarded her as a person or as an equal, making her sleep and share food with the dogs. The Cooks did not have enough money to keep her, so they gave her back. She was then rented to a woman named Miss Susan, who beat her mercilessly with a whip over the tiniest mistake. When she got the chance, she ran away from her, but ended up almost starving. She was returned to the plantation and started to work in the fields, gathering strength. Her father, hearing about her almost ...
A historic phenomenon known as the Underground Railroad left an immense impact on the history of slaves and abolitionists. A notorious woman by the name of Harriet Tubman had a paramount role in this audacious and venturesome event. She was even nicknamed Moses from the Bible! Multitudinous slaves had followed Harriet, trusting her as their leader to guide them through the routes of the Underground Railroad; therefore, it is suitable and appropriate to say Harriet Tubman was an extraordinary heroine. Her fervid and passionate determination made her capable of traveling to the Underground Railroad. Using that driven motivation, she assisted countless slaves to their freedom.
...ark. It is her life that should be remembered, the women that had the courage to escape from a life she did not want and the selflessness to return to bequeath the same gift on others that were not as fortunate as her. Tubman knew that although she could achieve freedom in a legal sense, she herself would not feel free unless she had someone to share it with. After escaping from the South, Tubman stated "I was free, but there was no one to welcome me to freedom.... I was a stranger in a strange land." Many slaves had the courage to journey north on the Underground Railroad, however, few slaves had the courage to free themselves, and then plummet themselves back into danger. It is not the action of freeing slaves that Harriet Tubman should be remember for, but rather her fighting spirit and unwillingness to give up until she felt that what was wrong was set right.
Harriet Tubman’s work as part of the Underground Railroad was ended by the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. However, her determined opposition and resistance to slavery did not end there. She assisted the Union throughout the war in a variety of roles. Her practice of partaking in the Underground Railroad meant that she had an understanding and ability to take part in secretive missions and this, in combination with her devotion to helping other people, made her a useful resource for the Union army
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in Maryland around 1820. By the time Tubman had reached the age of 5 or 6, she started working as a servant in her master’s household. Approximately seven years after she began working as a servant, Tubman was sent to work out in the fields. While Tubman was still a teenager, she sustained an injury that would affect her for the rest of her life. One day, Tubman stood up for another slave and blocked a doorway in order to protect them from an upset overseer. The overseer threw a weight at one of the field hands, missing them and instead hitting Tubman on the head. Tubman was never able to fully heal from the wound she sustained from the overseer. This injury caused a chroni...
Harriet Tubman was born in Dorchester County, Maryland. She was named Araminta Ross when she was born, though she changed it soon after she married Jon Tubman. She inherited his last name and changed her name to her mother’s name, Harriet. Tubman was one of 11 children in her family and they were all born into slavery. She had a very tough childhood. Her parents’ master sold three of her sisters to other plantations very distant, which devastated the entire family. Soon after, Tubman’s father was approached about selling his youngest son, but he declined the offer. This set an admirable example, which inspired Tubman.