Araminta was born a slave in 1820 in Dorchester county, Maryland, America to Ben Ross and Modesty Harriet Green. Ever since a young age, Araminta was forced to work. She was first hired at the young age of 5 to take care on an infant. Her job was to watch the infant at night and make sure the child made no noise so the mother could sleep. At any time if the child made a noise, her master would whip her around the neck. This was just the first of many jobs and masters. Throughout the years, she worked at various different tasks, some including maid, nurse, wood cutter and cook until she was old enough to work in the fields. Even though she preferred to work in the fields, she encountered harsh beatings from her master. She worked through
Imagine not having the government on your side, not being able to fit in with the people around you. Imagine going through slavery. Not being able to go to the same school as the person who lived across the street from you. That would be horrible right? Imagine not having the same equity as someone who is no better than you in anyway. What if its only because of your race? What is you had a community where you finally feel safe and you have family and friends that live all around you, but still not in the best living environment. Then Imagine having that all taken away from you and not having anywhere to go and cannot say anything to stop it. The Government of Nova Scotia impacted residents of Africville in a negative way. The city placed a dump in their community and left them in an unhealthy living environment, forced many people to leave family and friends, and left everyone with only memories good and bad.
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.
The story of Harriet Jacobs begins in North Carolina. In 1813 she was born into slavery, though she didn’t realize that she was a slave, stating “I was born a slave; but I never knew it. ”(Jacobs 1809-1829). Jacobs was with her mother until her death in 1819, then she lived with Margaret Horniblow, her mother’s mistress. Horniblow taught Jacobs to read, write, and sew, then in 1825 she died and willed Jacobs to her five year old niece.
Harriet was born into slavery. Although, it was not until she was the age of six that she actually realized she was a slave girl. Her life was filled with love from those who surrounded her. They were her mother who she was very fond of, her younger brother whom she considered a bright child, and her grandmother who was like a treasure to her. Harriet's father was living and worked out of state to support his family. After some years her mother passed away and left Harriet and her brother, William, to the care of her mistress. Harriet loved her new mistress and treated her as though she were her own mother. When Harriet was twelve, her mistress passed. In the will her mistress left her to her sister's daughter at the young age of five. Mr. Flint became her new master'. Mr. Flint was fond of Harriet because she was different from the other slaves. She carried herself with respect and was in fact a hard worker. Mr.
Mary Elizabeth Bowser was born in 1839 on the Van Lew plantation, in Richmond, Virginia. Mary Elizabeth was born into slavery, and was forced to work as soon as she could. When Mary was very young, there was a big slave selling from the Van Lew plantation, her family members were traded away to other masters so no one knows for sure who her mom and dad really were. From around the age of three Mary was forced to work on the plantation, in the fields or even doing laundry.(Mary Elizabeth Bowser) John Van Lew believed that if the slaves wanted to get to have a place to sleep and food to eat then they should be required to work at the earliest age possible. Most of the slaves couldn’t start really working till around age three, so the plantation had a slave or two that would watch the “under age” kids that couldn’t work yet. Therefore the “under age” slaves moms could work and not be held back by their children.
Harriet Jacobs was born in 1813 into a slave family. Her father, a carpenter, was highly skilled in his trade. For the first few years of her life, Jacobs lived a happy, normal childhood. She was fortunate enough to live in the same household as her parents and her younger brother, William. When she turned six, her mother passed away, leaving her under the care of her grandmother. In her narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet describes her life as a southern slave, calling herself Linda. She discusses the abuse she endured during servitude and how she managed to overcome it.
A recurring theme in, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, is Harriet Jacobs's reflections on what slavery meant to her as well as all women in bondage. Continuously, Jacobs expresses her deep hatred of slavery, and all of its implications. She dreads such an institution so much that she sometimes regards death as a better alternative than a life in bondage. For Harriet, slavery was different than many African Americans. She did not spend her life harvesting cotton on a large plantation. She was not flogged and beaten regularly like many slaves. She was not actively kept from illiteracy. Actually, Harriet always was treated relatively well. She performed most of her work inside and was rarely ever punished, at the request of her licentious master. Furthermore, she was taught to read and sew, and to perform other tasks associated with a ?ladies? work. Outwardly, it appeared that Harriet had it pretty good, in light of what many slaves had succumbed to. However, Ironically Harriet believes these fortunes were actually her curse. The fact that she was well kept and light skinned as well as being attractive lead to her victimization as a sexual object. Consequently, Harriet became a prospective concubine for Dr. Norcom. She points out that life under slavery was as bad as any slave could hope for. Harriet talks about her life as slave by saying, ?You never knew what it is to be a slave; to be entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the condition of chattel, entirely subject to the will of another.? (Jacobs p. 55).
Harriet is one of 9 children, having 4 brothers and 4 sisters. Her parents are Benjamin Ross and Harriet Green. (Ripley 222-3). Her childhood name was Araminta (nicknamed Minty), but she later chose her mother’s name. (Ripley 222-3). She is also known as “Aunt” Harriet. (Taylor 11). When Harriet was young, she was hit over the head with an iron weight due to an overseer trying to stop a slave from escaping. Because of this injury, she would randomly pass out during the day. She never received medical attention, but learned to live with it. (Allen 18).
Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl. 2nd Edition. Edited by Pine T. Joslyn. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, INC., 2001.
She also feels that Harriet Tubman is a prime example of a strong African American woman. In this biography, author, Catherine Clinton gives an accurate take regarding the conditions for slaves in Eastern Shore, Maryland. Her description of the conditions empower readers to construe how Harriet Tubman more than likely lived in her early years. This is a fascinating, elegantly composed early account that will equip readers with a realistic insight around the life of an African American saint. There are many good points throughout this biography. The authors’ point about Harriet Tubman being brave is confirmed by evidence in which she detailed. Case in point, voyaging on numerous occasions from the South toward the North by way of the Underground Railroad was considered exceptionally strong evidence of bravery. This biography furthered confirmed my positive view of Harriet Tubman. It also provided me with new insight of the struggles that Harriet Tubman encountered. For instance, I was able to learn that her original name was Arminata Ross and she was forced to change her name to Harriet in order to maintain a false
Araminta Harriet Ross (later known as Harriet Tubman) was an African American who escaped from slavery on a plantation and became a conductor of the “Underground Railway” as well as an abolitionist, humanitarian, and a Union spy during the American Civil War. She is known as the most famous conductor of “Underground Railway.” Araminta Ross was born in Dorchester County, Maryland in 1820 (exact date not known) to enslaved parents Harriet “Rit” Green and Ben Ross. Her mother, Harriet Green, was a slave to Mary Pattison Brodess. Her father, Ben Ross, was owned by Anthony Thompson, who later married Mary Brodess. Araminta was of the eleven children born to Harriet and Ben. Three of Araminta’s sisters were sold to different plantations owned by the family when she was young and her youngest brother was almost sold to trader, but luckily wasn’t due to a plea made by mother, Harriet. As a slave’s child, Araminta began to work at a young age for her parent’s owners as a nursemaid. As a nursemaid she would stay up all night to make sure the baby wouldn’t cry and wake up the mother. If Araminta fell asleep on the job, she would have been whipped by the mother. After being a nursemaid, Araminta became a house servant and when she turned 11 she decided to change her name to Harriet, her mother’s name, to show her coming of age. At the age 12, she joined her family working in the fields; there she learned to identify herbs and plants. During her childhood, Araminta or “Minty” (a nickname from her parents) was often beaten by her owners and suffered permanent physical injuries due to these punishments. One of these injuries that stayed with her for life was scars from a lashing she took one day before breakfast. Her most severe beaten happened ...
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.
Mary Boykin Chesnut was born on her grandparents' estate at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on March 31, 1823. She learned early about the workings of a plantation by observing her grandmother. Grandmother Miller rose early to assign the cleaning and cooking duties for her servants. Besides keeping the mansion clean and prepared for the frequent guests, Mary's grandmother also took charge of making and mending clothing for the slaves on the plantation. She spent whole days cutting out clothing for the children and assigning sewing to her nine seamstresses. Her grandmother worked with the servants and sewing crew so easily and effectively that Mary was nearly nine years old before she became aware that her grandmother's coworkers were slaves. Having learned to respect these workers, she thought of them as near equals.
To understand Harriet’s role in civil disobedience, one must first have knowledge of her personal life. Harriet was originally named Armanita Harriet Ross. She was one of nine children, her parents were Harriet Green and Ben Ross. Harriet was born into slavery because both of her parents were slaves. So she was exposed to the harmful ways of the slave life at a young age. Harriet received many punishment
Aryabhata was born in around 476 CE. He was born in India during the Kali Kusumpura Yuga (the age of the demon). This age was known as the age of demon because it had constant eclipses, which people believed to be created by a demon. Most of Aryabhata’s childhood and life events are a mystery. Hardly any records are left about his life. During this era, many didn’t write, but rather used symbols that represented words. Aryabhata, for instance, used his knuckles as a calendar. January would start from the pinky of the left hand. February would be the ring finger of the left hand and so on. All that is known about Aryabhata is that he was indeed one of the first Indian astronomers and mathematicians.