Harriet Tubman: From History to a Detailed and Realistic Film

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American history is rich with events and figures that shape the image of the whole nation. Certain prominent people, especially those who contributed to the country’s well-being, are often at the center of media, and especially the cinematography. At the same time, due to different reasons, they are not always portrayed with proper historical accuracy. This paper aims to prove that the 2019 film Harriet can be considered detailed and realistic, and the image of Harriet Tubman mostly corresponds to historical facts. Some elements of her biography and the timeline of the events have been changed; however, it did not significantly influence the perception of the character. Therefore, in this paper, Harriet Tubman’s life and achievements are compared to those presented in the film.

First, it is necessary to provide an overview of Harriet Tubman’s biography and contributions. In American history, she is known as a political activist who supported the abolitionist movement and contributed to saving enslaved people. She was born around 1820 in Maryland into an enslaved family (Krasner). Araminta Ross by birth, she became a slave like her parents and her ten siblings, two of whom were already sold (Krasner). Tubman’s mother was an example for the future abolitionist activist (Bradford 73). Her main goal was to secure the future of her family, and her will and resistance significantly influenced Harriet’s character.

During her childhood, Araminta, or “Minty,” was exposed to her mistress’s abuse. She helped with babysitting and started working on the farm when she became older (Krasner). At an early age, she already demonstrated her strong will and intelligence as she tried to find ways to avoid constant abuse. In 1844, she married a free black man John Tubman, took his surname, and changed her first name to Harriet after her mother (Dunbar 29). In 1849, she ran away from the plantation and headed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she could earn a living (Walters 199). From that moment, she decided to dedicate her life to rescuing enslaved people, starting with her family.

In total, Harriet made thirteen forays to conduct enslaved people along the Underground Railroad. Among plantation owners and slaves, she became known as “the Moses of her people” (Dunbar 37). Despite the constant attempts to capture Harriet, she was never caught. During all her life, she tried different roles, including working as a nurse and a spy. Indeed, when the Civil War broke out, Harriet spied on the confederate territory and supported former abolitionists in her house after the war finished (Dunbar 96). In the 1860s and 1890s, she applied for the federal pension as a widow of the Veteran Nelson Davis (“Claim of Harriet Tubman”). She died in 1913 when her health worsened in the Home for Aged established by her and donated to the Church of Auburn, NY (Dunbar 133). The story of this brave woman demonstrates her sincere desire to help enslaved people and fight for human rights.

The 2019 film Harriet is inspired by the story of this woman and her contributions to the abolitionist movement. The filmmakers confirm that they consulted multiple sources to make the story reliable and close to the real historical facts. At the same time, in historical movies, screenwriters often compress the timeline or fabricate characters to meet the audience’s expectations and dramatize the scenes. For example, in Harriet, Tubman becomes famous for rescuing slaves long before the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (“A Broadside Announcing the Fugitive Slave Bill of 1850”). However, according to the true story, her escape was dated 1849 (Walters 199). Moreover, some of the characters, for example, Marie Buchanon and Gideon Brodess, did not exist in real life. These figures play an essential role in the plot since they allow understand Harriet better and help demonstrate this character’s development.

It is fair to say that the majority of the scenes correspond to the biography of Harriet Tubman. Her skull trauma is an essential element of the story, which explains her seizures and visions, through which she could commune with God. According to real facts, when Minty was thirteen, there was a disagreement between another slave and his overseer. The latter aimed to hit his worker with a two-pound weight, but stroke Harriet, who blocked his path (Walters 35). As a result, she suffered from seizures, hypersomnia, and other negative consequences of the injury throughout her life (Walters 37). In Harriet, the accident happened when Minty tried to defend her brother from the hot-tempered overseer. This childhood memory once again demonstrates the character’s dedication to her family.

An important inconsistency is that as demonstrated in the film, Araminta Ross changed her first name to Harriet and her last name to Tubman after she reached Philadelphia. This decision is associated with the beginning of her new life. However, according to her biography, she took this name after her marriage (Dunbar 29). Presumably, screenwriters aimed to dramatize the moment of becoming a free woman and to emphasize this crucial change in her life.

In the film, it is shown that Harriet came back to Maryland to help her husband escape. As a result of his infidelity and unwillingness to leave the state and his new family, Harriet runs away with her siblings and friends. However, according to Tubman’s memoirs, saving her family was her primary goal. From the very beginning, she sincerely desired to save her relatives, while in the film, her decision to return to Maryland is mostly caused by her loneliness. The proof of this idea can be found in Tubman’s memoirs. “And my home, after all, was down in Maryland; because my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were there,” says Harriet, when she reaches freedom (qtd. in Bradford 20). Therefore, it can be suggested that the scene of Harriet’s return was slightly changed by scriptwriters.

It is difficult to deny that in order to correspond to the demands of the audience, filmmakers often have to make changes in the plot, even if it is based on real events. Harriet is not an exception, since the sequence of events and some details of the character’s biography were slightly changed. It is necessary to say that the film does not cover the later years of Harriet’s life, which she dedicated to helping soldiers and former abolitionists. However, the film can still be considered historically accurate since it includes the most important events connected with Harriet’s abolitionist activity, the Underground Road, and the Civil War. Even if the lead character and some of the film scenes are dramatized, they present Harriet Tubman and her contribution to American history in a reliable and effective way.

Works Cited

“A Broadside Announcing the Fugitive Slave Bill of 1850.”Digital Public Library of America, Web.

Bradford, Sarah Hopkins. Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman. W.J. Moses, 1869.

“Claim of Harriet Tubman.”National Archives, Web.

Dunbar, Erica Armstrong. She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman. Simon and Schuster, 2019.

Krasner, Barbara. Harriet Tubman: Abolitionist and Conductor of the Underground Railroad. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017.

Walters, Kerry. Harriet Tubman: A Life in American History. ABC-CLIO, 2019.

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Harriet Tubman: From History to a Detailed and Realistic Film

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