This paper examines the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman, one of the most influential figures of the 19th century. Beginning with her brutal enslavement and traumatic head injury, the paper traces her daring escape to freedom in 1849 and her subsequent return to the South as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. It details her navigation strategies, her leadership of nearly 300 enslaved people to freedom without a single loss, her service as a spy and military commander during the Civil War, and her later advocacy for women's suffrage. The paper demonstrates how Tubman's courage, intelligence, and unwavering commitment to justice transformed her from an enslaved person into a legendary freedom fighter whose legacy continues to inspire Americans today.
Imagine being struck in the head by a two-pound weight, leaving you with lasting physical hindrances including seizures, narcoleptic episodes, and severe headaches. What have you done to receive this punishment? As a slave in the first half of the 19th century, it was simply refusing to listen to an overseer's instructions to help restrain a runaway slave. Unjust punishment like this was something Araminta Harriet Ross, better known as Harriet Tubman, had to endure nearly her entire life. Born to enslaved parents somewhere between 1820 and 1825, Ross had no option as to what her life would entail. She was to be a slave like her other nine siblings. However, Harriet Tubman was unlike any other of her time. She refused to succumb to the clutches of slavery and became the most famous and perhaps the most successful "conductor" of the Underground Railroad, which was the name for the intricate network of safe houses organized for escaping slaves. During her time as "conductor," Tubman led hundreds of slaves to freedom, putting her own freedom at risk to rescue both non-relatives and family members from the unjust plantation system.
September 17, 1849, was the date Harriet decided to escape slavery in Maryland along with her two brothers, Ben and Henry. Ben was actually a freeman at the time but had few options as to what he could do besides work for his old owner. Their destination was to be Philadelphia, but the only one who ended up making the arduous 90-mile journey there was Harriet, as her two brothers got cold feet and decided it was best to return to the plantation. Harriet, however, had no such inclination. She used the Underground Railroad to travel the 90 miles and crossed into the free state of Pennsylvania with an overwhelming sense of glory. In her own words, "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."
Simply escaping to freedom herself was not enough for the ambitious Tubman. In her mind, the freedom she gained felt empty unless she had the capacity to share it with the people that she loved. Therefore, rather than remaining in the North, where safety was finally obtained, she decided to make it her mission to rescue not only her family but also others living in the destitute conditions of slavery. She became so successful in her treks to freedom that William Lloyd Garrison, a prominent abolitionist and social reformer at the time, called her "Moses."
Harriet's first return to Maryland was a result of her hearing the news that her niece Kessiah and her two children were about to be sold. Tubman fled Philadelphia and crossed the Mason-Dixon line into the city of Baltimore, where she hid in the house of Kessiah's husband, a free African American. Upon Kessiah's husband placing the winning bid on her and their two children, they fled and met up with Tubman the following night. She successfully guided them to freedom by leading them to Philadelphia.
Although nothing could stop Harriet from fulfilling her desire to free slaves, one major impediment did perhaps put a slight barrier on the slave-freeing business as a whole. That impediment was the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This harsh law allowed for the capture and return of fugitive slaves to their rightful owners within the United States. Additionally, this act added fines and punishments for those who interfered with the capture of any runaway slaves. Further, the act provided incentives for those who captured escapees. Nonetheless, the prospect of freeing her brother Moses was well worth the risk to Tubman.
With each quest to freedom, Tubman became more and more experienced, and she soon began to develop strategies that would aid her in each subsequent journey. The North Star was her main tool for direction, but when the cloud coverage was too much, she would inspect the moss that would grow on the north side of dead tree trunks. Moreover, she always gave her escapees instructions that to the average person may not seem very important but in the grand scheme of things were vital.
For example, Tubman always advised slaves to escape from their masters on a Saturday. The reason being that Sunday was always a day for rest and a day where slaves often would not communicate with their masters; therefore, owners would not know of their slaves' escape until Monday. This gave Tubman nearly a two-day lead from anyone looking for the slaves she was helping to escape. Additional strategies of hers included traveling using back roads, waterways, and mountains and traveling during the fall season. By traveling in obscure locations, she would be less likely to get caught by slave catchers. The reason for her traveling during the fall season lies in the fact that days are shorter in the fall, leaving Harriet with more time to travel in the darkness.
After nearly 10 years of returning to free slaves, she totaled 19 returns that resulted in the liberation of nearly 300 slaves. The most impressive thing being that she never lost a single person. Although she was highly touted for her work of freeing slaves, Tubman also served as a spy for the Union during the Civil War and even led a military expedition—the first woman to do so. She believed that by helping the Union Army, she could aid in obtaining the freedom of all who were enslaved, rather than just the ones she could help to escape by herself. Even though the punishment for being caught as a spy was death from being hung, Tubman was able to convince other African Americans to help the cause.
Tubman had many dangerous roles during her life, but perhaps the most dangerous of them all was when Harriet helped in the planning and execution of a raid to free slaves from a South Carolina plantation that was located along the Combahee River. Prior to the mission, Tubman had gathered vital intelligence that included the hiding places of Confederates along the shore. Further, she had discovered the location of potentially dangerous barrels filled with gunpowder in the water.
The execution of the mission took place on June 1, 1863. There were three gunboats that contained several hundred male soldiers and Harriet Tubman. The Union crusade was successful to say the least. By the time the raid was over, buildings and bridges were burned to the ground, rendering them completely unusable by the Confederate forces. Additionally, nearly 750 slaves were saved without the loss of a single soldier.
"Post-war marriage, activism, and suffrage advocacy"
"Death, honors, and lasting historical influence"
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