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Paul Knoch
Biography-Harriet Tubman
November 20, 2013
The Life of Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery. She was born in Dorchester County, Maryland. The exact year of her birth is unknown. She is thought to have been born between 1820 and 1825. Her parents gave her the name Araminta Harriet Ross.According to the family lore Harriet was one of eleven children, but it is not known in which order she was born in regards to her brothers and sisters. While her mother was away from the home, Harriet was required to take care of a younger brother and an infant. This could possible lead to the idea that she was the eighth child born. As Harriet was growing up her parents where constantly sold in and out of slavery. Harriet grew accustomed to living in various environments. Due to the constant changing of the living conditions Harriet and her brothers and sisters where unable to live with each other on a regular basis.
The first time Harriet was sold as a slave she was five years old. She worked for a couple who had an infant. Her responsibilities included taking care of the needs of the infant. Harriet was so small that in order to hold the infant safely she had to sit on the floor. Additional responsibilities where domestic tasks throughout the day. She was constantly working from the moment she got up to the moment she went to sleep. Yet many nights she was required to cradle and rock the infant to sleep. The mistress did not go to comfort her own child, yet if the child was not comforted by Harriet, Harriet would be whipped for neglecting the infant. Harriet recalls
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At the age of twelve Harriet graduated from domestic labor. As she grew into her teen years she was sold to a farmer who had her doing backbreaking work, usually left for men. She was working in the fields and hoisting barrels of flour into carts. Due to being in the outdoors working she was often with a brother. She learned to enjoy the physical exertion. She also enjoyed working in the open fields.
While Harriet was a slave she acquired many different injuries that followed her throughout her life. As previously mentioned she often remembered being lashed five times before breakfast one morning and the scars that it left. The scars from this beating would be carried with her the rest of her life. When Harriet was a teen she experienced a severe injury. The farmer she worked for sent her to the store for supplies. As she was walking, she came across a slave who left the fields without asking. The slave’s overseer demanded that Harriet help retain him. She refused, leading the overseer to throw a two-pound weight at the runaway, however the weight missed the runaway and struck Harriet in the head. This injury was to cause Harriet to have seizures, severe headaches and narcoleptic episodes for the rest of her life.
In 1844 when Harriet was about 25 years old she married her first husband, John Tubman. John was a free African American. He did not share the same dream that Harriet had to escape slavery and go north. John and Harriet remain childless. Harriet carried the fear that if she married she would be separated from her husband if she where sold into slavery. When she finally escaped from slavery it was Harriet who left John behind. Harriet had no desire to divorce, so she remained married until his death. In 1867 she learned that John had been gunned down and was now a widow in the eyes of God. This opened the door for her to be remarried. In
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Harriet escaped slavery in 1849. She had initially escaped with two of her brothers. She made sure that they returned safely back to the plantation due to their second thoughts of running away, these doubts placed the escape in jeopardy. Harriet would not return with her brothers and continued north alone. The safest way for Harriet to travel would be at night and rest during the day. She sought rest near hollowed-out trees, looking for nests of brown bats to keep the mosquitos away. Her journey was made mostly on foot and once in a while a wagon ride. The moment she crossed the line into the free state of Pennsylvania she had a great feeling of relief and awe. She later recalled, “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 over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.” (Harriet Tubman Biographry)
When Harriet escaped she left everyone she loved behind, including her husband. Harriet tried to talk her family into going with her so that they could be free as a family, but they were not ready to try to escape as they knew the consequences which could come if they where to get caught.
Harriet took routes following the Underground Railroad to escape to freedom. The Underground Railroad was not actually under ground nor was it a real railroad. It was named from the activities of freeing slaves in secrecy and darkness. Railway terms were used by those involved in the system. The different routes were lines, places they stopped were stations, the ones who helped along the way were conducters and their charges were packages or freight.
In 1850 Harriet became an official Underground Railroad Conductor. She was now aquatinted with all of the routes into free territory. She had to take on oath of silence saying that
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During her years with the Underground Railroad she claimed that there where two things that sustained her. One being the pistol she carried at there side and the other being God. She wouldn’t hesitate to use the pistol for self defense, but it was more of a symbol instructing slaves and making it clear that “dead Negroes tell no tales.” (Harriet Tubman) The timid ones found courage in her presence. She affirmed her faith in God with this statement, “I always tole God, I’m twine to hole stiddy on to you, an’ you’ve got to me throu.” (Harriet Tubman)
Harriet said herself “On my Underground Railroad I never run my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.” (Harriet Tubman-Leading Slaves into Freedom) That was something that most conductors could not say themselves. Her true passion in life was helping those who where in slavery to find their way to freedom.
When the war ended in 1869 Harriet remarried a man by the name of Nelson Davis. They lived a wonderful life and where married for 19 years when at that time Nelson died.
Once the war ended Harriet retired from the Underground Railroad. She had been part of the Railroad for eight years. After retiring she created a home, not only for her family memebers, but for those who had been forgotten or abandoned. Her charitable endeavors became a symbol for reformers, and her accomplishments showed the proof of individual dreams shaping a reality.
Harriet’s life came to an end in 1913 due to pneumonia. She was buried with military honors honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York . Her tombstone simply reads
“Servant of God, Well Done.”
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To this day Harriet is widely known and respected for the courage and compassion she
showed during her life. She became an American icon after her death. Harriet’s life continues to inspire generations of Americans, who advocate for their civil rights, with her bravery and bold actions. In honor of Harriet Tubman there have been many schools throughout the United States named after her. Two institutions that serve as monuments to her life are the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, New York and the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cambridge, Maryland.
Works Cited
Clinton, Catherine. Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 2004. Print.
"Harriet Tubman - Leading Slaves into Freedom." Harriet Tubman - Leading Slaves into Freedom. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
"Harriet Tubman Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
"Harriet Tubman." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
"Harriet Tubman Timeline." Harriet Tubman Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
"Underground Railroad." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
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