Harriet Tubman

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Harriet Tubman in 1855

Harriet Tubman, née Araminta Ross, (born c. 1820, Dorchester county, Maryland, U.S.—died March 10, 1913, Auburn, New York), American bondwoman who escaped from slavery in the South to become a leading abolitionist before the American Civil War. She led hundreds of enslaved people to run freely in the north along the Underground Railrod, which is a secret network of safe houses carefully organized for this purpose.[1]

History

Araminta Ross was born in Benjamin Harriet (Greene) Ross in the winter of 1819 or 1820. They were slaves on the east coast of Maryland. Araminta or "Minty" was born in a large family of slaves and originated in Africa-her grandparents may have come from the Ashanti tribe in Ghana today. Her exact date of birth is unknown because she is a slave and the master does not often record the date of birth of her slave. Before becoming an adult, Araminta changed her name to Harriet after her mother's name.

Although some of her siblings were illegally sold to state buyers, when she was five or six years old, Harriet was loaned to another plantation, where she was used to check musk traps in the river. She was very ill, unable to work, was sent back, malnourished and suffered from the cold. After recovering from the illness, she was loaned to another plantation, where she worked as a nanny for the planter’s children.

When she was a teenager, she was engaged in field work, farming and hauling timber. During this time, she defended her companions in the wild who tried to escape. Harriet is somewhere between the angry overseer and the hand of the wild. The supervisor threw a 2-pound weight into the field, but it fell very short and hit Harriet's head. As a result, she suffered headaches, seizures and narcolepsy throughout her life.[2]

In 1844, Harriet married John Tubman, even though their marriage never had children. After the death of her master in 1849, Harriet learned that she would be separated from her family. She made a plan to escape. Her husband refused to go with her and threatened to report her to the new owner. Harriet and her brothers fled the plantation. However, after a short distance, her brothers decided to return and left Harriet alone. She travels at night and hides during the day, her only guide is Polaris.[3]

Harriet settled in Philadelphia and worked as a cook, laundromat and maid to support her family and save money for her family. She met the abolitionist William Still, the son of an escaped slave and the leader of the Philadelphia Vigilance Council (also known as the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Association). In this city, Harriet learned about the underground railway through its secret network of black and white abolitionists, which utilized a series of carefully designed secret tunnels, houses and roads. In 1850, when Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act (S Fugitive Slave Act) to illegally aid fugitive slaves, Harriet joined the Underground Railway. To be safe, she began to bring the charges to Canada.[4] As early as the late 1850s, Tubman participated in anti-slavery conferences, black rights conventions, and women's election conferences, thus becoming politicized.[5]

Contribution

Harriet-Tubman (far left) standing with a group of formerly enslaved people whose escape she assisted

During the Civil War, Tubman worked as a nurse, cook, and spy in the Union Army. Her experience of leading the slaves of the underground railway is particularly useful because she knows the land very well. She recruited a group of former slaves to find the rebel camp and reported the movements of the Allied forces. In 1863, she joined Colonel James Montgomery and about 150 black soldiers in a gunboat raid in South Carolina. Because she obtained internal intelligence from the scouts, the Alliance gunboat was able to surprise the Alliance rebels.[6]

"What really helped Harriet accomplish the amazing act of freeing 300 slaves was Harriet's tactics. She came up with many clever ways to not be caught ever and to never lose a slave". A good example is that she came up with coded songs to send messages to slaves. One of the songs she said was "In the Water", telling the slave to hide in the water. Another example of this is that when they arrive at a house, they can say "friends with friends" when they can stay in her house so that they know it is her. Also because she was called "Moses", the slave owner thought she was a man. Even if she is "she", it makes them even more fearful of her. These are genius ideas that contributed to her success on the underground railway.[7]


Here are the several accomplishments of Harriet Tubman :

She Served as a "Conductor" of the Underground Railroad for 11 Years

The Underground Railroad is a network of secret routes and safe havens established in the United States. African American slaves use these secret routes and safe havens to free blacks, white abolitionists and others who sympathize with their cause. With the help of activists, they fled to the Free State and Canada. Tubman used this network during his escape. She risked her freedom to become the "conductor" of the Underground Railroad and returned to Maryland many times to help rescue other slaves. From her escape to 1860, Tubman served for 11 years. In 1850, the United States passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which stipulated: "Escaped slaves can be captured in the north and return to slavery." Tubman therefore rerouted the underground railway to Canada.

Harriet Tubman Guided at Least 70 Slaves to Freedom

While serving as the commander of the Underground Railway, Harriet Tubman conducted 13 expeditions and rescued at least 70 slaves, including her family. She also gave specific instructions to 50 to 60 fugitives who fled to the north. Her journey brought her huge risks and required her to be creative to deal with difficult situations. Harriet Tubman was nicknamed "Moses" because of her courage and the nature of her work. She was never captured and neither were the people she guided. Tubman later said: “I can say what most conductors can’t say – I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.”[8]

She Assembled a Spy Ring

Tubman took steps to bridge the distance between himself and the newly released locals. Because they didn't like getting rations without their support, they were not satisfied, so she gave up. To make ends meet, she makes pies and draft beer to sell to soldiers, and runs a bathroom. She hired people who had previously been enslaved to help her wash clothes and distribute her merchandise.

Tubman eventually formed a group of trusted scouts to map the territory and waterways. She also did some reconnaissance on her own. After receiving $100 in Secret Service funding in January 1863, Tubman was also able to pay for those who provided useful information, such as the location of Allied forces or ordnance.[9]

External Link

See more her contribution here

Reference

  1. Harriet Tubman American abolitionist. December 17, 2020. Britannica. Retrieved January 31, 2021
  2. Information and Articles About Harriet Tubman, a famous women In history. Historynet. Retrieved January 31, 2021
  3. Paula B. Nelson. Tubman, Harriet. Learningtogive.org. Retrieved January 31, 2021
  4. Paula B. Nelson. Tubman, Harriet. Learningtogive.org. Retrieved January 31, 2021
  5. Kate Clifford Larson, Ph.D. Bound For the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero. Retrieved January 31, 2021
  6. Activists & Reformers  Harriet Tubman. Americaslibrary. Retrieved January 31, 2021
  7. Shaycee Renn. The life and accomplishments of Harriet Tubman. February 18, 2016. Moabsunnews.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021
  8. Anirudh. 10 MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF HARRIET TUBMAN. May 3, 2017. Learnodo-newtonic.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021
  9. Sara Kettler. Harriet Tubman's Service as a Union Spy. October 1, 2020. Biography,com. Retrieved January 31, 2021