The dictionary definition of a hero is, “A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Armantia Greene was born into slavery around the time of 1820, although the exact date is not known for sure, on the Brodess Plantation in Maryland. Armantia later took on the name “Harriet” in honor of her mother. Tubman knew from the beginning she was made for something greater; something more than the daily beatings and work given by her masters. Tubman was every bit of a hero, even by just going on the simple dictionary definition given. Harriet Tubman, the inspirational hero was the type of person all people should strive to be like because who wouldn’t want to be remembered as a brilliant, determined, …show more content…
At the time she said this, Tubman had already fought and won her freedom. This quote sums up what a selfless person Harriet Tubman was. Tubman had always put others first, whether she was free at the time or still in slavery. Harriet Tubman had spent ten years freeing her people. In that ten-year span, Harriet Tubman led over 300 people to freedom. She was never caught, nor lost a single slave. Every time Tubman left to go and free more of her people, she was taking enormous risks with her own hard-earned freedom. Garrett, a man who knew Harriet Tubman, said, “The strangest thing about Harriet is, she does not know or even appears to know that she has done anything worth notice.” (Clinton 95). Tubman just did what she knew was right; she never thought about the consequences or the praise she might receive. She just helped her people in every way she could. At the time when the Civil War broke out, Tubman had to stop her Underground Railroad business. Tubman began to work as a cook, nurse, laundress, teacher, scout, and spy collecting information for the Union Government behind enemy lines (Clinton 303). She did anything and everything she could do to help. Tubman was not paid for her work with the Union government, but she did collect government food. Once she realized there was not enough food for all of the refugees, she …show more content…
She never learned to read or write from a teacher, but she taught herself to listen and to remember and soon gained an unusual memory (Hakim 29). Tubman had very good “street smarts” as used in modern day terminology. After she was struck in the head, her master tried to sell her off. Whenever a buyer would come around, she would just so happen to have a sleeping spell, making her potential buyers not interested in her. Tubman made it look like she could not understand anything at times. She would make herself look “dull” around her master, all the while taking in everything that was going on around her (Sadlier 44). It was Tubman’s brilliance that kept her alive as a child. Even when she was on rescue missions, her brilliance and knowledge of the land had played a huge part in her success. Tubman has said that she could tell the time at night by looking up to the stars (Clinton 103). She would look to the trees and other natural signs to lead her in the dark of night just as any professional hunter would know to search for its prey. She was able to see her “passengers” through any sticky situation. “Tubman would appear in slave cabins on a Saturday night disguised as a man or a very old woman. She would lead a group to safety the following morning, knowing slave owners were less likely to pursue slaves on a Sunday.” (Harriet
Harriet Tubman was a poor slave girl who ran away from her plantation at the age of 28. Throughout the course of her life many people and many things challenged her. Each situation she was faced with tested either her mental or physical strength, usually both. She persevered through all of her trials stronger and wiser, and was willing to always help others through their own. Not one to instigate unless extremely necessary, Harriet was known for her quick thinking and her reactions to each ordeal she was faced with. She responded to them with a sharp mind, and strong faith in deliverance through the Lord.
Harriet Tubman was among the greatest fighters for justice in her time and was an inspiration to others to fight for what they believe in, but she along with many others who fight experienced it themselves. When she was younger, “She knew that her brothers and sisters, her father and mother, and all the other people who lived in the quarter, men, women and children, were slaves. At the same time, someone had taught her where to look for the North Star, the star that stayed constant, not rising in the east and setting in the west as the other stars appeared to do; and told her that anyone walking toward the North could use that star as a guide. She knew about fear, too. Sometimes at night, or during the day, she heard the furious galloping of horses, not just one horse, several horses, thud of the hoofbeats along the road, jingle of harness. She saw the grown folks freeze into stillness, not moving, scarcely breathing, while they listened. She could not remember who first told her that those furious hoofbeats meant the patrollers were going past, in pursuit of a runaway. Only the slaves said patterollers, whispering the word” (Petry). Living with her family as a slave, she learned all the things she needed to know to do her job in the future as the conductor of the Underground Railroad, she learned about the North star, and she learned about how you should not get caught by the patrollers. Perturbed by the thought of the fate of her family and her future, she escaped to Philadelphia but “Rather than remaining in the safety of the North, Tubman made it her mission to rescue her family and others living in slavery via the Underground Railroad” (Biography.com editors). She made it her mission to save others and take
Harriet Tubman is well known for a successful role in freeing many slaves through the Underground Railroad. Not many know the major effect she had on the Union Army as a Scout and a spy during the Civil War. Her bravery while helping slaves escape through the Underground Railroad and her assistance in gathering Confederate troops intelligence as a spy changed the history and made a great impact on the on the United States National Defense. Even though Harriet Tubman was a very skillful spy, she had many indicators that were missed while she was spied for intelligence and reported the material which were compromised to her handler.
During the Civil War, which began in 1861, Tubman served as a nurse, scout, and spy for the Union Army in South Carolina. She helped cook and prepare food for the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, which was made up of all black soldiers and was better known as the Glory Brigade. She later received an award for her efforts, but no pay.
Because she was an abolitionist, had other jobs doing good things, and nothing stopping her from doing anything, Harriet Tubman sets a heroic example. Harriet wasn’t necessitated to free slaves or work for the Union Army, she decided to do that on her own. Harriet always had a job to do and every job she had basically helped someone else in some kind of way. In 2016, The U.S Treasury announced that Harriet Tubman will soon appear on the $20 bill replacing Andrew Jackson. Thanks to her, many people were able to live their lives free and well. We also now know what it is to fight for what we think is
With Tubman’s issues with seizures, her owner attempted to sell her. Fortunately, Tubman was not sold due to absence of buyers. In 1849,
Harriet Tubman, a runaway slave, helped so many blacks escape to freedom that she became the ‘‘Moses’’ of her people. She was born in 1820 in Bucktown, Maryland and died in 1913 in Auburn, New York. During the civil war, she served the union army as a nurse, cook scout, and spy for four years. In 1844, Harriet married a free black man, John Tubman. She left him in 1849. She married Nelson Davis in 1870 and stayed with him.She traveled at night and day guided by the underground railroad a secret network of secret routes and safe house’s. She built the Tubman Home in 1870. She receives honor from queen Victoria for bravery (1893) Harriet Tubman is a hero because of her Determination, Sacrifice and Loyalty. Here’s why,
She even jeopardized her own safety to help guide all these people. Because of all these reasons, she inspires and motivates many people to be an activist and fight for something that someone may believe in. “She continues to inspire generations of Americans struggling for civil rights with her bravery and bold action” (Biography.com). This shows that Harriet Tubman still today encourages everyone to stand up for a cause that may be important to anyone. It is essential to defend human rights because it is not fair to be enslaved and treated poorly because of your skin color. Everyone should be free and have equal rights. It is also important to stand up for what you believe in, even if it means going against the law.
“I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I couldn’t have one, I would have the other.” Harriet Tubman was born into slavery and was a tough girl who always tried to help others. Once she helped another slave when she was twelve, and she got hit on the head with a two pound weight. Throughout her lifetime she will face reoccurring blackouts from this. She escaped to freedom in 1849 after her master died. She returned at least eight times to the South through the next 11 years after she escaped to help other slaves to freedom, usually her family or people she knew. She helped rescue at least 38 slaves using a secret network of trails and safe houses leading from the Southern United States to Canada. Harriet Tubman’s work as a conductor on the Underground Railroad is her greatest achievement.
The first contribution of Harriet Tubman is that she served as a spy for the union army, because she wanted freedom for all the people who were forced into slavery not just the people she could help by herself. One day Tubman took one of the most
Many people didn't know Harriet Tubman for all of her hard work, she did during her time. Harriet Tubman was a very brave slave and women, many people know her because she was the “conductor” of the Underground Railroad. Growing up Tubman lived very harsh conditions, violence, and skull fracture that nearly almost took her life. Tubman was more than just a slave who helped other slaves escape, she was very important during the Civil war( working as a spy, nurse, and cook) and opened many opportunities to slaves during that time. Even though Tubman lived harsh conditions she still spoke for what she believed in which was freedom and accomplished her goals. In the Washington Post article: Five Myths About Harriet Tubman, Harriet Tubman's Ballad, and Letter to Harriet Tubman from Frederick Douglass all the authors present information about Tubman involvement with the underground railroad and how she was important but each author has a different purpose and uses different information to explain their purpose.
Even after she made an escape from slavery, she returned back to the state nineteen times to help lead families, friends, and other slaves, to find freedom. Tubman knew many routes throughout the woods, pastures, and fields. While traveling, she would only make a move at night. Harriet thought that it was safer in the dark than it was during the day because there was not as many people outside working. At night, she claimed that she would follow the North Star. When is traveled, she always carried something to protect her and her group from anything that could harm them. “It is estimated that she led several hundred people to freedom. It is said that she never lost a single passenger.”
She didn’t worry about herself after all the hard work she still helped everyone. Furthermore, her third achievement is Harriet being a Civil War nurse. I think this isn’t her best achievement because she has only helped 150 black soldiers on a gunboat raid in South Carolina, not going to lie it is a lot of people, but in the Underground Railroad she helped at least 300 people. When people were sick and some died from dysentery, Tubman really believed she could find a cure.
To start off, Harriet Tubman was extremely selfless. She risked her life to save her family. She rescued her parents and brought them to the north where they would be safer. Not only did she save her parents from the harsh reality of slavery, but Tubman risked being placed back into slavery in order to free innocent strangers. She did this not only once, but nineteen times, each becoming more dangerous to do. Her last trip to free slaves being during a time where she was wanted. Yet, her selflessness doesn’t stop there. Not only did she save the lives of so many people, she also served as a nurse during the civil war. Tubman was able to help many of the injured Union soldiers. She did this not for herself, but for the cause of helping the Union win the Civil War.
She sacrificed her safety and her freedoms to return to the South multiple times in order to bring fugitives to freedom. Being a lead abolitionist was not an easy task. Tubman had to first escape her own torments as a slave in order to help others. She endured whippings, physical and mental abuse that left permanent scars on her body and her soul. She received little to no respect and was forced to wear the same clothes everyday, never being replaced if ripped or torn.