“I grew up like a neglected weed,” were Harriet Tubman’s words about being a slave from the beginning of her life. She was born in Maryland in the year of 1822, and she had to start working at the age of 5. In adulthood, she decided to make an extremely risky decision that could have cost her her life - she fled slavery. Tubman was tired of the harsh conditions she had to endure in slavery, and she wanted her freedom just like she had deserved from the beginning. A couple of her sisters were sold away from her family, and after her master had died in 1849, she did not want to be sold into slavery again. When she successfully escaped, she wanted to assist other slaves into freedom by taking them to Canada, including her family members, and …show more content…
Along with bravery, another powerful character trait was cleverness about the routes and techniques for the escape plans. She planned every journey carefully which is why she was successfully for almost 10 years. Some of the measures she took to avoid capture were planning her journeys mostly in December where the nights were long, and there were less people outside. The slaves were mostly taken on Saturday nights so that the reward posters couldn’t be printed until Monday. She had to be a great leader each time she helped escape a group of slaves so that they wouldn’t give up. She had to motivate them to keep going and reaching for freedom, but in other times she had to place fear in them again so that they could stay awake during the night. If one person wanted to go back, she couldn’t allow them because it would ruin the whole plan. Also, her cleverness was shown especially in the beginning of being a conductor when she wasn’t familiar with all the routes to Canada, so she had to be careful throughout the way, and know when and where to avoid any possible dangers. The route was longer because the fugitives had to settle in Canada instead of the Northern States because of the Fugitive Slave Law. Harriet Tubman was a kind, passionate, and humane woman who gladly escorted the slaves to Canada, and she had the will to care for them until they were
” (Par 14, Petry) In this example, the story shows she is persuasive. This helped her as a leader because she would bring back hope to people that given up, keeping them going and determined. Without this skill, the slaves could have given up. This quote is another example of her reactions to the slave, “She lifted the gun and aimed it at the despairing slave.
Harriet or formerly known as minty was born into slavery in 1820. After her slave owner dies in 1849 she ran away before she could be sold to another owner. “After the civil war ended Tubman dedicated her life to helping impoverished former slaves and the elderly.” (Biography #) This shows that she is kind and caring. Since she spent so much of her life helping and caring for others it shows what a big heart she had. “During the civil war she was a spy for the federal forces in south carolina as well as a nurse” (americaslibrary #). Harriet was not only a spy but also a nurse. This shows that
Harriet Tubman was a second generation slave born in the 1820s in Dorchester County, Maryland. She was born a slave. Her birth name was Aramita Ross, her nicknames were Minty, Moses, and Moses Of Her People. She was one of eleven children in her family. Her parents were Harriet Green, nicknamed “Old Rit” and Benjamin Ross. They were believed to be full blooded African Americans, Ashanti West African war people. Harriet’s owner, Edward Brodas, was a plantation owner and often rented Harriet out to neighboring families. At age 7 she was sent to take care of a baby, she tried to eat a sugar cube, but got caught, she ran and hid. After a few days hunger got the best of
She knew what the consequences would be if she got caught, yet she was still determined to free the enslaved from Maryland. She did everything in her power to make sure she could
“Harriet Tubman - PBS” states that Harriet Tubman made many trips “During a ten-year span she made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom”. Harriet freed slaves by sneaking them through the underground railroad. This was very brave of her and her actions were very important in the change of civil rights. Her and many others changed the lives of african americans. Harriet was a slave herself as stated in “Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad” “She could not, for example, have said how or at what moment she learned that she was a slave” (Petry). Personal experience is what drove Harriet to help others. She knew slavery wasn’t right and she had the boldness of taking the situation in her own hands. In order to help slaves escape, she had to stay in hiding “She devised clever techniques that helped make her "forays" successful” (Harriet Tubman, Petry). For how quiet and in hiding she was, Harriet still managed to make a big difference. This is why she is so important. Bravery is key to making a change and Harriet Tubman was very
There were various challenges she had to overcome, such as nature. According to kids.nationalgeographic.com, it reveals,”The Underground Railroad was not underground, and it wasn't an actual train. It was a network of people, both whites and free Blacks, who worked together to help runaways from slaveholding states travel to states in the North and to the country of Canada, where slavery was illegal.” Harriet Tubman had to go through many challenges and had to find a path to bring most of the slaves to freedom. Without this path, Harriet Tubman would face a lot more struggles than she actually needed to.
Harriet Tubman is a well-known figure for helping runaway slaves, but there are many other things Tubman did in her lifetime for the movement that many don’t know about. Throughout her life, she worked as a conductor of the underground railroad, a spy in the civil war, and a part of the women's suffrage movement. Afterwards, she worked to help children and the elderly. Harriet Tubman’s experiences and contributions impacted the abolitionist movement by helping people escape from slavery, overcoming the challenges of getting her group caught, and inspiring others to overcome their own obstacles. After Harriet Tubman escaped her plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland, she did not stay in Philadelphia; she came back to bring others out of slavery.
From the website “Peoples of the Historic Slave Trade” an article by Rosetta E. Ross states “Tubman fled Maryland on foot, walking through Delaware and into Pennsylvania, traveling at night and hiding or sleeping by day.” Harriet faced many hardships to do this, having to be stealthy throughout, traveling hundreds of miles on foot, and had to cope with her recurring seizures and narcolepsy. However, she was still able to accomplish her goals and assist the Union army in defeating the Confederacy. Harriet Tubman’s feats have been shown to inspire people directly and indirectly for years. Many African Americans were inspired by Harriet Tubman to fight for equal rights from the tales she told, and today people are inspired by her stories to push for equality.
Harriet Tubman was born to slave parents in Maryland one of nine children. She was originally named Araminta Harriet Ross, while her exact Birthdate is unknown, it was probably between 1820 and 1825. Tubman’s early life was tough her owner sold 3 of her sister's, physical pain was a part of daily life for Tubman and her family. She would get beat five times before breakfast she carried the scars for the rest of her life. Slaves suffered through a lot they would get beat if they wouldn't get their work done and even if the work wasn't complete.
Brave - Harriet Tubman was extremely brave. Due to her actions of freeing slaves, she had to constantly outrun the law and disguise herself. If she was caught, she would have had to face an extreme punishment - perhaps death. Inspirational - Harriet Tubman was an inspiration to many.
She risked her own life by escaping slavery herself, but she then went back repeatedly to the South to lead others to
Tubman was a very successful abolitionist; she led hundreds of slaves to freedom and never lost a single follower nor was she ever caught. When Tubman was born around the year 1820 she was born into slavery, both her mother and father were slaves. In the year 1849, Harriet and two of her brothers had fled from slavery leaving behind the rest of her family. She made the decision to flee after the death of her owner in 1849. Her brothers made the decision to go back to the plantation, while she refused to return to being a slave she decided to make sure her brothers made it home safely. She then proceeded to make her way to the “free states” in order to make sure that she was free. After making her way to the northern states, she started to make her way back down to the slave states to where she
Although her brothers returned to the south she made it her mission to rescue her family and other slaves too. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act, “that required the authorities in the North to assist Southern slave catchers and return runaway slaves to their owners” (Goldfield 397). Harriet Tubman came up with a brilliant idea of re-routing the Underground Railroad to Canada. As time went on Tubman was responsible for freeing more than 700 slaves in the South, making her the first woman in America to command an armed military raid. One of her quotes are “I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger” (Biography 1). Tubman risked her life for her family and others this shows her courageous attitude and how smart she was to learn how to reroute the railroad. She was a true humanitarian during American
For 10 years she led slaves to freedom from Maryland to Canada and other northern states. As a result of the Fugitive Slave Act, Tubman was forced to travel farther to get to Canada. It is unclear how many trips were taken and how many were freed, though in Document B it is apparent that she helped over 40 people. Tubman was motivated to lead family and fugitives to justice. Tubman was able to help brothers, sisters, her mother and father, children and fugitives throughout her 10 year journey as a conductor of the Underground Railroad (Document B).
When she was 27 years old, she heard that her masters were planning to sell her and her siblings. Strongly against this, Harriet planned to escape. She had been saving money, and in 1849, she made her move. After crossing the Mason-Dixon Line, she worked in Philadelphia to raise money to go back and rescue the rest of her family. (Harriet Tubman Historical Society) Over the years, she saved over 300 people from the grasps of slavery in the South. She became so notorious, that her rewards for her capture rose to about $40,000 at one point. She was never captured. (America’s Library) The “Moses” of her people built a legacy on abolitionism, but also became known as an icon of suffrage and rights for women. Harriet Tubman truly was a leader in a time of