Catherine Clinton\'s Biography \"Harriet Tubman:

Catherine Clinton's biography "Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom" is considered one of the best and most comprehensive biographies on Harriet Tubman's life. Considered by many to be the American "Black Moses," the story of Harriet Tubman has become more myth than reality in the minds of most Americans. Catherine Clinton is a renowned historian with a special interest in black history. She has authored many books in both children and adult literature on the theme of Black American history. As a professor of African-American studies at Brandeis University, Brown University and Harvard, she has become an expert on the arena of Black narratives and historical biographies. Her definitive chronicling of Tubman's life in this work is fully comprehensive and immersive, one of the reasons it is such a powerful narrative work is because Clinton does not deviate from the life of Tubman, but focuses on exposing the reality of this mythical figure. The majority of biographical narratives on the subject of Tubman has become predominantly focused on her myth, we all know her as the mastermind of the "underground railroad," but the vast majority of her life has become lost and discarded. The ambiguity that is associated with Tubman's identity has become almost folklore as no one; perhaps not even Tubman knows the specifics of her birth. The strength of Clinton's narrative, and her intent through her biography, is to capture the real Harriet Tubman, through her trials and triumphs and begin to understand the truth about which one of the most powerful women in American history really was. Through Clinton's biography, it becomes evident that the reality of Harriet Tubman's life is an inspirational and motivating chronicle for future generations, even more so than the mythology that her legacy as created.

The purpose of this book is recreating a historically accurate, complex and complete portrayal of Harriet Tubman. Clinton explains that to the majority of the African-American community, Tubman is very much considered a "Moses" of her people. Her legacy has become so entrenched in traditional African-American lore that few has made an accurate attempt to assess her life. Perhaps this is out of a fear that they might discover a "true" Tubman that is less than the fearless leader that she has come to symbolize, but this reveals that their fears are unfounded. Clinton first introduces the world in which Harriet Tubman lived in. The book at its outset becomes as much a social history of American slavery and the antislavery movement as it is about Harriet Tubman. She frames the story of Tubman's struggles and her life around the greater battle for emancipation that was occurring on the national level, thus painting and framing the place that Tubman occupies within American history. Clinton provides a general overview of conditions for slaves along the Eastern shore; from this the audience can infer how Harriet must have lived during her early life. Clinton's particular strength within this narrative is that she uses a blending of traditional scholarship as well as family lore to construct the overall narrative. In the final analysis, she reveals that Harriet Tubman is an ordinary woman, with the normal complexities of ordinary life, entrapped within the world of her extraordinary accomplishments. Clinton carefully leads the audience to this conclusion not through explicit statements, but through a careful chronology of Tubman's life. We are led to see that she has lived the same travails that all human beings endure, and that it is her particular strength and courage in facing the realities of life, rather than her "inhuman" accomplishments during the abolitionist movement that truly defines her character.

The primary subject of her book is Harriet Tubman herself. Clinton details her life journey, beginning not with her birth but with Tubman's last major public endeavor occurring in 1908. Tubman was born during the "era of good feeling," a historical period within American history where pre-dominant national sentiment led to a bout of peace and prosperity. This of course did not apply to African-Americans, whose lives were still controlled solely in the hands of their white owners. Clinton chronicles Tubman's journey from being born a slave in Maryland to her daring escape to Canada, her daring journeys back to the United States and the already glorified endeavors of the Underground Railroad. However, Tubman is not the only well developed character within the narrative. In order to fully capture the essence of Tubman as a real person, Clinton goes into painstaking detail to capture the attitudes and mentalities of other characters that had a strong influence upon Tubman's life. John Tubman was one such individual who had a substantial influence upon the life of Harriet Tubman. They were married as teens in Maryland, Clinton notes that their early marriage was filled with "happiness and repose, they loved each other tenderly and with great passion." Little has been known about the relationship between these two individuals, through Clinton's diligent research she paints a picture of a happy couple torn apart through their conflicting moral values. John Tubman was content to live out his life on the farm; he felt that despite the conditions under which he lived, they were not as worse as comparable circumstances at other farms. His indecisiveness when it came to his personal freedom ultimately led him to adamantly refuse to run away with Harriet. When Harriet Tubman fled to Canada without her husband, it signified a tremendous turning point in her life. Clinton very carefully crafts how the reality of their breakup created a substantial change upon her, the courage and conviction in her ideals necessary to destroy the beauty of their relationship is truly inspirational. Through the characterization of John Tubman, Clinton is able to convincingly show that Harriet, the real human being, is even more of a powerful and inspiring figure than the traditional depictions of her legacy on the Underground Railroad.

To understand this biography as a mere description and detailing of Harriet Tubman's life would not give due credit to Clinton's work. The special place that this book holds within the annals of African-American history is that it attempts to separate reality from myth. The majority of the American public knows the story of Harriet Tubman, her courage in helping bring slaves into the north through a dangerous "underground railroad." The danger that she faced through this time of trial, her hunted status throughout the south and her ultimately courage in standing up for African-Americans as well as women's rights are all well documented. However, Harriet Tubman was also a real person, and the personal story behind her accomplishments is far more awe-inspiring than her accomplishments. Clinton reveals that Tubman grew up much like any other slave, that she did not receive divine aid, or superior education, nor did she gain certain advantages over other slaves. That she lived a "normal life," with a husband that she loved in a community that was indistinct from many others. Yet that through all of the pitfalls of life, she wanted something more and acted upon her instincts is truly something to be admired. Clinton's emphasizes that Harriet Tubman was just as human as anyone else, but that her special abilities and her courage arose when they were called upon. The reason behind her dangerous trips into the heart of the South was that she strongly believed in her moral convictions, and that she put everything into her beliefs. She was an ordinary woman who rose up when called upon to do the extraordinary. The vast majority of people in America forget in the face of her lore that she also lived a normal life, and that what she accomplished is all the more amazing because it can be translated to our own actions today.