Being one of the greatest African-American abolitionists in history, Harriet Tubman is remembered generations after her death.
Harriet Tubman is famous for leaving a legacy as the most famous “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, a network with which she freed over 70 African-Americans from slavery. She was an African-American abolitionist who escaped from slavery herself.
Read more about Tubman’s activism, her fight to escape slavery, and her mission to rescue others.
Tubman’s Life Growing Up
Tubman was born Araminta “Minty” Ross as one of 8 siblings. Her exact birthdate is unknown, as is, unfortunately, the case with many African-American slaves.
Her birthdate can be approximated to 1820, although her death certificate states 1815.
Tubman’s parents, Harriet “Rit” Green and Ben Ross were owned by Mary Pattison Brodess and Anthony Thompson, who had large plantations in Maryland.
Tubman looked after her younger siblings as a child, as her mother was busy with the work assigned to her as the main cook.
When Tubman was a child, she was assigned as a nursemaid to a woman by the name of Miss. Susan.
If the baby woke up and cried, Tubman would be whipped. She resisted this by wearing many layers of protective clothing so she would feel less of the blow, or by physically resisting the abuse and fighting back.
She contracted the measles after deplorable working conditions but was still forced to work.
Tubman was assigned various tasks, such as checking the muskrat traps in marshes, and as she got older, she was assigned harder work such as plowing the field and forest.
She suffered a serious head injury after she was hit by a metal weight thrown by a slave owner who was aiming at another slave attempting to escape.
After enduring heavy bleeding, she experienced severe headaches and would often fall unconscious and have regular seizures.
She also began to have hallucinations which she saw as messages from God, leading her to become religious and look towards Christianity.
Her father was freed in 1840, as Thompson had promised to free the family whenever they all turned 45.
Unfortunately, the owners did not follow through with the promise for any other members of the Tubman family.
Tubman’s Escape From Slavery
In 1849, Tubman escaped with two of her brothers while working on a plantation in Poplar Neck.
The family posted a notice offering money for the returned slaves.
Tubman’s brother had second thoughts as he realized there was a possibility he could be a father and returned with them.
She escaped again, this time alone, using the Underground Railroad, which was a network of activists and abolitionists who worked to free enslaved people.
Although her exact route is unknown, she most likely traveled on foot for at least five days and probably somewhere under three weeks.
Speaking of her escape, Tubman reportedly said, “When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.”
Becoming an Abolitionist
After her escape, Tubman became one of the greatest abolitionists, guiding hundreds of enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Her main work was between 1850-1860, wherein she guided somewhere between 70-300+ people through the network, including her family.
She was given the nickname “Moses” (a religious leader who supposedly led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt).
After the Fugitive Slave Law was passed, it became much more difficult for slaves to become liberated: slaves were to be returned to their owners even if they were in a free state.
In response, Tubman rerouted the path to Canada, where slavery was abolished.
She also helped the Union Army, working as a spy for them during the war. During this period, she helped greatly with the Combahee River Raid which freed over 700 slaves.