by Ehab Shehata

Created on: July 29, 2008

History Profile: Harriet Tubman

Significant Facts:

-Born 1819 into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland
-Although Harriet had not gotten an education her life of hardship had taught her to be crafty and elusive, which served very well for the purpose she sought in her life.
-At age six began work.
-1844 marriage to a free African American who did not share her dreams of freedom and even refused to allow her to travel north.

-She had devised many useful techniques to travel unnoticed on the underground railroad.
-Harriet began her trips Saturday night, because newspapers could only publish the wanted ad Monday morning.

Harriet Tubman was born into a seemingly hopeless world with little support from anyone. She had been snatched from her parents and began work at the green age of six. Through her life of hardship she had worked innumerable jobs and taken innumerable beatings. Harriet's perspective and mindset can be seen from her own words, "there was one or two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other". Harriet had a brave and patriotic soul who stood up for the American liberty of every individual on that soil. She escaped to Philadelphia in 1849 by using the North Star as a guide and also with the assistance of a friendly white woman. Once she arrived at Philadelphia she realized that a grave responsibility was on her shoulders, she had found a way to freedom and now felt obligated to escort her brethren to safety using the Underground Railroad. Indeed Harriet is an iconic hero; she put herself at risk to better the lives of others. She dove in the middle of a fire and intervened on behalf of those who were too weak, frightened, or helpless. She soon developed so many clever techniques to ensure the safety of her trips along the Underground railway, she even carried a gun incase the fugitives she was escorting decided midway to turn back or thought they were too tired, she simply used this as a motivation rather then a real threat. If any of her passengers decided to quit she would solemnly tell them their options "You'll be free or die". This significant character completed the perilous life-threatening trip to slave country a reported nineteen times in the period of a decade. She escorted three hundred men, women, both old and young to the safety of the North. These people and their offspring are indebted to her for an eternity and countless others who rallied and became inspired from hearing her stories. Truly she gave hope to the hopeless and freedom to the enslaved, she gave herself completely to the freedom of others. Harriet Tubman will always be classified with the superhero elite of the abolitionist movement. Famed abolitionist John Brown after meeting this legendary woman, described her as, "one of the best and bravest persons on this continent."

Bibliography:

Web Sources

"African American History of Western New York"(1996). The Circle Association. July 21, 2008. http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/0history/hwny-tubma n.html

Julie Vickery-Smith. "Harriet Tubman"(2008). The holiday zone. July 21, 2008.

"Harriet Tubman"(2008). PBS. July 21,2008.

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