Category: Harriet Tubman

Introduction: Journey of Hope on the Underground Railroad

A group of slaves travel through the forest alone, led by one of the most important black women to ever be on this planet, who are wanted dead or alive by slave catchers. They are traveling along the underground railroad and are looking for secret codes the woman has told them about in order to know if they are safe. This woman had been treated poorly all her life, such as when she was rented out as a child like an object, hit on the head with a brick while trying to save a slave’s life, separated from most of her family, punished with a whip for mediocre reasons, etc. Through all this tragedy, she kept her spirit and faith up and helped hundreds out of slavery. This woman is none other than the great Harriet Tubman.

The Ashanti Legacy

Harriet Tubman believed herself to be descended from the Ashanti, an African tribe of warriors that had successfully fought the British. Her grandmother, Modesty, gave birth to her mother, Harriet Green, who married Benjamin Ross. Because no one recorded the births of slaves, historians believe Harriet had 8 to 11 siblings. At first, her name was Araminta, but then she changed it to Harriet after her mother. Her descendant today, Maya Hawkins-Bailey, who admires Harriet, says, “…she went back for others…I consider her my hero.”

Trials of Childhood

Even at the age of 6, Harriet was rented out to other homes, such as a family called the Cooks. It was at these homes that she had small eating portions and occasionally shared meals with the dog. For any small mishap, she would be whipped by her master and sent to work in the fields with no shoes. “There were good masters and mistresses…” Harriet states, “I didn’t happen to come across any of them.” She would sleep on the kitchen floor, and when she got sick from the cold, she would be accused of faking it to get out of work.

The Impact of a Blow

When Harriet was only 15, a guard hit her in the head with a brick while aiming for an escaping slave Harriet knew named Will. Afterward, she had a dent in her head and suffered from sleeping fits for years. These sleeping fits caused her to spontaneously fall asleep in the middle of what she was doing three to four times a day. Nothing and no one on the plantation could wake her up from this. Her master tried to sell her, but no one would buy her for even the smallest amount. Thankfully, her sleeping fits did get better with time and eventually went away.

Harriet had a very strong religious faith in God even though she went through so much, and most of her childhood was a nightmare. She would always sing religious songs in the fields, which the other slaves enjoyed gladly. She would pray for her master to see his wrongdoings and let her and everyone else go. After a while, she got impatient and prayed for the lord to get rid of him. He soon after died from an illness. Harriet blamed herself for this and was such a good person she would have given anything, even herself, to save his life and take off her guilt.

Ever since Harriet was little, she believed she had rights, which automatically made her different from most slaves. She first heard about the underground railroad when she was eleven years old and first saw a man try to escape when she was only thirteen. She escaped in 1849 when she was twenty-nine and was never captured while helping others do the same. After that, she helped seventy others escape and led a raid that freed hundreds, so slave catchers put a twelve thousand dollar reward on her. She was called Moses because, like him, she led enslaved people into the “promised land.”

In order to escape and help others do the same, she had to use codes and signals. When sending coded letters to her four brothers, they had to pretend they couldn’t read so the master wouldn’t get suspicious. In these letters, she would describe a boat named Zion when referencing the land of freedom. When escaping, they used colored lights and the song “Go Down Moses” to signal if it was safe or not and used noise to distract guards. She even occasionally dressed in disguises such as a clumsy old lady.

In her 20s, Harriet married a man named John Tubman, who, unlike Harriet, had no interest in listening to talk about freedom. With this man, she had two kids. When she was older, she discovered she and her mother were actually supposed to be let free once her mother turned forty-five, but no judge would have taken their case anyway. She died on March 10, 1913, leaving a legacy people will remember for thousands of years.

Conclusion: A Legacy of Courage and Compassion

Harriet Tubman fought for what she believed to be right and died, having known that she helped free more than one hundred slaves. She suffered through a bad childhood but took her bad experiences and chose to help others going through the same thing. She led others along the underground railroad, upon which she used codes to hide secrets and know if they were safe. She always kept her head up and used religion to help her get through bad times. She is an inspiration to everyone, and her story proves that if you see something as wrong, you should stand up against it.

Reference:

1. Ashanti Tribe. (n.d.). African Warriors – The Ashanti Tribe. African Tribe Facts. https://african-tribe.co.za/ashanti/
2. Hawkins-Bailey, M. (Personal communication, [Date]). Descendant Perspective.
3. Larson, K. (2004). Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero. Ballantine Books.
4. Clinton, C., & Okenwa, L. (Eds.). (2017). Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom and the Courage to Act. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
5. Lowry, L. S. (2008). Harriet Tubman: Imagining a Life. Anchor.
6. Humez, J. M. (2018). Harriet Tubman: The Life and the Life Stories. University of Wisconsin Press.
7. Tubman, H., & Bradford, S. H. (1869). Harriet, The Moses of Her People. Geo. R. Lockwood & Son.
8. National Park Service. (n.d.). Harriet Tubman Biography. Underground Railroad. https://www.nps.gov/people/harriet-tubman.htm

Introduction:

Harriet Tubman was a hero, leader, brave individual woman, and determined hard worker. Harriet was a person who was treated unfairly, with little disrespect, and put under horrible conditions. She faced many battles growing up. Which turned her to be the woman she became and is remembered as in today’s world. All these things will never be forgotten and untold.

From Araminta Ross to Harriet Tubman: A Personal Evolution:

Harriet Tubman was not always her name. Harriet was first known as Araminta Ross as a young child. She was born in Dorchester, Maryland, in 1820. Her parents were named Harriet Ross and Benjamin Ross, which is where she got the name Harriet from her mother. She took her mother’s name as she started growing up and getting older. Sadly, she was separated from her parents. Her father was owned by a white slave owner named Anthony Thomson, and her mother was owned by a white slave owner named Mary Pattison Brodess. Harriet was owned by a man named Edward Rodgers.

Harriet’s owner was absolutely cruel and abusive to her. He gave her a head injury that ended up changing her whole life as she expected. One day, her owner abused her so badly that she hit her head. This caused her to suffer horrible conditions, such as seizures and vision problems, that she would have to live with for the rest of her life. Even though she had these horrible issues, Harriet did not let that stop her from doing what she knew was right. Harriet still worked. She had many jobs. She worked as a cook, laundress, and scrubwoman in Philadelphia and Cape May, New Jersey.

Legacy of Liberation: Honoring Harriet Tubman’s Impact:

Later on, in the year 1848, Harriet escaped slavery. With her being able to escape slavery, she decided to help others escape, too. Her first mission was to help rescue her sister and two children. After rescuing her sister and children, Harriet started helping other former slaves. In the 1850’s Harriet made over nine trips to lead over 180 slaves to freedom. Most of them were relatives and friends from plantations near Cambridge. Sadly, Harriet died on March 10, 1913, in Auburn, New York, from pneumonia. She died at the age of 91 years old.

Conclusion:

All of these things from Harriet’s past history show that she was a strong individual woman. Also, she’s been through so much that anybody can hardly imagine being through. There is so much more about Harriet that can be learned to better understand her life and how she came to help abolitionists. The fact that she risked her life to save many other lives is very encouraging and inspirational. Harriet was also faithful through her journey and years of being a female slave. Not many can say that about people today because many would have given up. That really shows inspiration.

References:

1. Dorchester County Historical Society. (n.d.). Harriet Tubman: A Brief Biography. https://www.harriettubmanbyway.org/harriet-tubman-biography/
2. National Park Service. (n.d.). Harriet Tubman Biography. Underground Railroad. https://www.nps.gov/people/harriet-tubman.htm
3. Larson, K. (2004). Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero. Ballantine Books.
4. Brundage, W. F. (Ed.). (2007). The Oxford Handbook of African American Slavery. Oxford University Press.
5. Lowry, L. S. (2008). Harriet Tubman: Imagining a Life. Anchor.
6. Clinton, C., & Okenwa, L. (Eds.). (2017). Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom and the Courage to Act. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
7. Humez, J. M. (2018). Harriet Tubman: The Life and the Life Stories. University of Wisconsin Press.

The Heroic Journey of Harriet Tubman

Slavery had left an important role in American history as it started in 1619 when nineteen African Americans arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, by Dutch traders. The effect it left on the people and the inequalities they faced their entire lives was an everyday struggle. One of the most popular slaves was Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman was born a slave, therefore leading to having no record of her birth, and no exact date of her birthday is known. She was believed to have been born in 1825 in Dorchester County, Maryland. There was no actual way to determine her age, and adding to it, her death certificate indicates she was born in 1815, and her gravestone in Auburn’s Hill Cemetery says 1820. As she was born a slave in her early childhood, she suffered the hardships she faced on the plantation, as well as having vivid dreams and hallucinations. In her early childhood, she was frail and weak; however, with the work she endured, she became a strong woman. The hard work she faced made her focused and her body stronger. At a young age, she was hired by a man named John Steward to chop wood for the shipbuilding industry in Baltimore.

Challenges of Childhood and Transformation

The challenges she faced led to her escape in 1849, and the history of her deeply religious background and her beliefs helped push her to achieve more and rescue her friends and family as well as others over and over again. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad visitor center tells the life she once lived. It holds the importance of slavery in Maryland with the description of inequalities many faced during their lifetime and the struggles they endured on an everyday basis. The history of Harriet Tubman displays an onlook of her courage that helped free slaves with the challenges she faced, wanting to put an end to slavery. Through exploring the different viewpoints and artifacts, this paper will lay out the history and life of Harriet Tubman. It will also discuss the racial inequalities and difficulties she faced on her journey. Lastly, it will promote the impact this site has today and the importance to Maryland’s history.

The Underground Railroad and Leadership

Harriet Tubman’s whole family was living a slave life, including her and her four sisters and four brothers. The site focuses on her childhood and the experiences she faced, as well as the movement she created later in her life. At a young age, the plantation became small compared to others around the region, and slaves were extremely important as their way of income. In 1825, Harriet’s three older sisters were sold off the plantation as the farm was starting to struggle financially. Her first job as a slave at the age of five was to watch over and take care of an infant. She would work long hours at night rocking the baby’s cradle to make sure she didn’t cry, and when it was heard by Miss Susan, her mistress, “would whip her around the neck, these were the first scars, and they remained for the rest of her life.” The next job she received at the age of seven was collecting muskrats from traps, which always left her soaked in water and mud from the hip down. Over time, she developed measles and became fatigued and collapsed.

Roughly a year later, she was hired to a different household where she managed to escape for three days, finding shelter in a pigpen and scavenging for scraps of food. The site features information about their childhood and young adulthood, the way of life she lived, and the labor she faced under slavery in Dorchester County. The site features 10,000 square feet of exhibits about her life and explores the Underground Railroad with a self-guided driving tour including 36 sites. Later, she will discuss the site exhibits in the Secrets of the Underground Railroad and her own daring rescue missions. The exhibits emphasize the importance of her family, faith, freedom, community, and actions during the Civil War. The message given to the audience at the site is no matter gender, race, age, or religion, you can make choices that positively impact others in their life regardless of the circumstances.

Legacy and Impact on Equality

Tubman’s life and legacy are shown in the introduction to the guided tours and deeply reflect her work as a leader, liberator, and humanitarian. In 1849, Harriet Tubman started her movement as her owner, Edward Brodess, started to sell slaves in order to cover his debts. As she realized her brothers and her were going to be separated, she started praying, “Oh lord, if you ain’t never going to change than man’s heart, kill him, Lord, and take him out of the way.” With her prayers coming true, Edward died a week later, and this was her way of being ready to escape. She had saved enough money to escape and start a new life, leaving no traces.

On September 17, 1849, she escaped Poplar Neck Plantation, and her brothers changed their minds about leaving and returned to the plantation. Within two weeks, her escape was noticed and published in the Cambridge Democrat, offering a $300 reward for their location. It is told to the audience she took on the role of Frederick Douglass, becoming guided by the North Star and helped by others taking shelter in safe houses. Her journey lasted 90 miles, and “When 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 through the trees and over the fields, and I felt like I was in heaven.”

As she crossed the Mason-Dixon line, she entered the North, which was a location for free slaves. Over this time, she managed to get a job working in houses and hotels, making sure to save enough money to return to her family and rescue them. Knowing the risks of getting caught could lead to jail time. She started her first rescue mission in 1850 by retrieving her niece and two children. With the close relationships she made, she was able to form her own network of safe houses. With her next mission to go save her brother, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed and made her journeys more jeopardizing and hazardous. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made the capture of fugitive slaves to be returned to their owners. Due to the North’s missions to return to the South to save the lives of many, the annual loss of slaves had increased over the years.

With the new act in play, it made the punishment worse for everyone involved in the movement. Under the new law,” alleged runaway slaves were subjected to a jury trial before being sent back to their owners, and local jails were not allowed to be used for fugitive slaves.” It was conceived that all blacks were runaways, which made it extremely difficult for any operation to be conducted and threatened the freedom of fugitive blacks and free men. The ones caught” could be arrested and extradited without a warrant, had no right to a jury and to defend themselves in court.” Many free blacks and fugitives fled to Canada. This act struck hardships that Harriet had to overcome to save and rescue the rest of her family and others.

With this impacting the way Harriet went on her missions, slaves had created Secret code languages. Secret code languages held the meaning of hidden messages only slaves could understand and were used in songs or letters. Singing songs was a part of the slave’s everyday life and became their own tradition and a part of their own culture. Enlisted in the songs and letters would be directions on where to escape and how the job would be done. Harriet Tubman had to plan methods that would ensure the safety of herself and others. She started by only traveling at night and telling them to escape on Saturdays as Sundays were rest days, and the owners wouldn’t come to realize anyone was missing until Monday morning. The way this was ruled led the escapees to gain a head start. Later on, Harriet Tubman started to conduct more and more journeys, gained a reputation as a liberator, and became more recognized.

The impact of the site shows great importance to American History as it briefly breaks down the movement and inequalities that were once the troubles that many lived through. The site shows and explains the leadership Harriet Tubman faced and how her actions led to her becoming a hero to many. She had a positive impact on people, making them think truly about slavery, and she managed to help hundreds of slaves become free at last. Her roles in society “also helped women’s suffrage movement to show that women can, and that has impacted us now to think twice about every woman.” Her actions of being brave and determined to free more and more parents and children made her become the woman we respect her as.

In the year 2020, her face will be displayed on the twenty-dollar bill. As in all of her journies, she put her life on the line as a conductor in the Underground Railroad; she wanted everyone to be free and wasn’t stopping till she put her own end to slavery. Her role leads others to believe that “she is seen as a symbol of how black people resisted slavery during the time before the Civil War.” Her fearless journies were only carried through the start of her life, serving the horrible treatment she faced with living and leaving her family behind. This site has opened the topic that many have hidden from speaking about for many years and the discrimination blacks faced. The lawful system was broken, which led to unequal employment, unequal education, and the horrific events that led to today’s America. Visit the site gives the audience the feel of what was lived to see it in person, and looking at the artifacts preserved, knowing the topic is sadly true and putting that blueprint in our minds.

In conclusion, the actions led by Harriet Tubman made her be seen as a hero, and she became praised for the amount of leadership and determination she possessed. Her actions changed many lives and became an inspiration to many African Americans. Tubman wanted to put an end to slavery and make all humans equal regardless of race or gender. She had fought for the freedom of herself and others, always putting her life at risk. She always watched over the backs of others and wanted to help and treat as many people as she possibly could. She would clothe and educate freed African Americans, supporting them in living a newly freed life. The woman she became was worshipped by many and “was recruited by the Union Army during the Civil war, she acted as a spy, going into Southern towns to gather covert intelligence on the movements of the Confederate Army.” Through her own expeditions, she recovered 300 slaves with the support of the military campaign and helped lead the release of 750 slaves.

Her first-person actions led her to be a highlight in the women’s suffrage movement. Her movements were “the educational efforts made by African American leaders to uplift the race” Du Bois. Pursued the act of free people and the dangerous injustices slaves faced in everyday life. The impact she left on many with her fearless determination embraced the life she lived while fighting for the struggles of racial equality. The difficulties she faced in repeatedly risking her life never stopped her actions, and it matters to American History as she is still recognized by millions today. “When the U.S Treasury Department announced that Harriet Tubman’s image will replace Andrew Jackson on the face of the $20 bill, Google ran more than 2 million searches by people seeking to learn about her.” Having this done would represent her story and the contributions of women in American history. As Tubman would state, – “I never ran my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger.” leading to the point that most conductors can not compare the level of skill she possessed in her job.” She lived her life fighting for social justice and women’s rights till March 10, 1913, being buried with Military Honors.

References:

1. “Harriet Tubman.” National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/hatu/index.htm
2. “Harriet Tubman Biography.” Biography.com. A&E Television Networks. https://www.biography.com/activist/harriet-tubman
3. “The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery.” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/underground-railroad-escape-slavery
4. “Harriet Tubman: Escaping Slavery and Leading Others to Freedom.” National Women’s History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/harriet-tubman
5. “The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.” National Constitution Center. https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/article-iv/clauses/755
6. “Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom.” African American History Museum. https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/harriet-tubman-road-freedom
7. “Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.” Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/underground-railroad/harriet-tubman-and-underground-railroad/
8. “Harriet Tubman Biography.” History.com. A&E Television Networks. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harriet-tubman

Tubman’s and Josiah’s story in the underground Railroad provides a contradictory perception that tends to depict a little coincidence with a more significant potential of emerging differences. In the beginning, it is mandatory to acknowledge that the term underground Railroad was symbolically used to indicate the overall network of outflow rates for the slaves, who extended their stay beyond their southern territories to the northern borders. The study aims at evaluating how the slave laws were fugitively enacted and how this affected the growth and success of humankind.

These underground railroads consisted of passengers and were secreted in fixed positions known as stations. It is also evidenced by the story that; every family had the responsibility of offering various kinds of foods and clothing to the passengers, also referred to as runaways (Adler, 2018). The story of the underground Railroad typically stipulates how humanitarian laws were dismissed in the 1960s, by an outstanding relevant shred of evidence, using the two individuals, namely Harriet Tubman and Josiah Henson

Both Tubman and Henson had experienced health complications. Harriet Tubman was often hired to other plantations. On one occasion, she refused to participate in punishing one of the slaves, which led to physical beating, especially on the head. This subjected her to headaches and seizures. After Josiah was sold, it is clear from the film that he felt ill and could not work as expected, and this facilitated the selling of Josiah. They also got subjected to physical torture. When Harriet Tubman refused to participate in the punishment of the fellow slave, she got subjected to physical thrashing where the skull was hit.

On the other hand, when Josiah tried to come into the help of the employer who was involved in chaos with a fellow white, it became a crime, and Josiah received a severe beating. Later it was found that Josiah acted as a preacher and earned his income through donations from people. After, Harriet got involved in several roles, including working as a nurse in Virginia; as a soldier and later as a spy. Besides, the two individuals were hardworking as they got engaged in activities in the employment firms. For instance, Harriet was often hired to other plantations, where she worked as a slave. After the nursing of Josiah, he recovered from illness and worked on the farms. Harriet also worked as a cook and a domestic worker in private hotels. It assisted her in raising her finances, which spearheaded her activities (Humez, 2006).

Also, both were abolitionists because they both fought, advocated, and participated in the movement to end slavery. Josiah attempted it through purchasing freedom but later escaped and became a runaway with his family to achieve independence. Harriet relocated members of her family to Free states where liberation got implemented fully. She also returned to Maryland to rescue more friends and members of her family (Adler, 2018). These manifestations prove to what extent Harriet and Josiah opposed slavery acts. Although both were engaged in slavery at first, they later fought the action and began to help fellow slaves to escape from the same immoral act. The article further suggests that Harriet facilitated the rescue of about sixty members, including friends and family members. Josiah also rescued around twenty-one friends into Free State. The act of fugitiveness resulted in the fact that both absconded slavery and settled in Free states with their families. Although the American economy depended upon labor, which led to the enslavement of individuals, Harriet Tubman and Josiah Henson, who were once slaves in the region, fought against it through the enaction of fugitive law where after individual discharge, they would help the rest escape (Tubman, 1868). They eventually also participated in the movement to end slavery, and lastly, they opposed this act of slavery

In summary, slavery can staunchly get described as an immoral act in societies, since numerous adverse effects characterize it. One may indicate experience its impacts through a series of psychological, emotional, and physical molestations. For instance, a victim may suffer severe or treacherous health symptoms, which may limit his/her overall lifespan. For this reason, there is a need and demand for evaluation of this act by giving it a more in-depth interrogation to enable easier identification of its causes and the potential remedies. In support, policies and measures should get proposed to counteract its effects, as law enforcers, researchers, and other health professionals continue to develop more straightforward standards of dealing with the problem.

We are experiencing a landmark in history globally with the sudden uprise of the COVID-19 pandemic spanning across the world. Without making this written work analysis on the topic, rather, use this time of social distancing and isolation to reveal the heroes who have pulled this country out of much worse situations. Harriet Tubman, American abolitionist, and political activist, was originally born into slavery, only to escape and made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.

Born a slave in Dorchester County, Maryland, Tubman had grown to withstand being beaten and whipped by a fair share of slave masters. Early in life, she suffered a traumatic head wound when a slave owner threw a heavy metal object intending to hit another slave but hit her instead. The injury caused symptoms such as dizziness, pain, and spells of hypersomnia, which occurred throughout her life. After her injury, Tubman began experiencing strange visions and vivid dreams, which she ascribed to premonitions from God. These experiences, combined with her Methodist upbringing, led her to become devoutly religious and sparked her trials to bring multiple endangered lives through the Underground Railroad. On her first trial in 1849, Tubman escaped to Philadelphia but immediately returned to Maryland to rescue her family. Slowly, one group at a time, she brought relatives with her out of the state, and eventually guided dozens of other slaves to their freedom. Traveling by night and in extreme secrecy, Tubman was known amongst many slaves under the moniker “Moses” for her being responsible for never losing a life along the way.

In 1849, Tubman became ill enough to endanger her life, which diminished her value as a slave. Because of this, her then-current slave master identified this and began the process of selling off Tubman to a new owner, ultimately splitting up her birth family. This feat later proved to be unsuccessful, allowing for a larger window of opportunity for Tubman. Tubman and her brothers, Ben and Henry, escaped from slavery on September 17, 1849. Tubman had been hired out to Anthony Thompson (the son of her father’s former owner), who owned a large plantation in an area called Poplar Neck in the neighboring county of Caroline County; it is likely her brothers labored for Thompson as well. Because the slaves were hired out to another household, Eliza Brodess probably did not recognize their absence as an escape attempt for some time, until two weeks later when she put a bounty on their head. Tubman escaped the grips of slavery once again, but this time without her brothers. She tried to send word of her plans beforehand to her mother. She sang a coded song to her friend Mary, a trusted fellow slave, that was a farewell. ‘I’ll meet you in the morning’, she sang, ‘I’m bound for the promised land.’

While her exact route is unknown, Tubman made use of the Underground Railroad. This was extremely informal but was a well-organized system composed of free and enslaved blacks, white abolitionists, and other activists. Most prominent among the latter in Maryland at the time were members of the Religious Society of Friends, often called Quakers. The Preston area near Poplar Neck contained a substantial Quaker community and was presumably an important first stop during Tubman’s escapes. From there, she most likely took a common route for fleeing slaves – northeast along the Choptank River, through Delaware, and then north into Pennsylvania, a journey of nearly 90 miles. By foot, this would have taken between five days and three weeks. The typical journey may have gone similar to this- Tubman found it to be mandatory to travel by night, guided by the North Star. Almost every night was spent trying to avoid slave catchers eager to collect rewards for fugitive slaves. The ‘conductors’ (abolitionists, politicians, etc.) in the Underground Railroad used deception for protection, universally lying to keep slave catchers off the trail of Tubman and her convoy of soon freed slaves. At an early stop, the lady of the house would instruct Tubman to sweep the yard so as to seem to be working for the family. When night fell, the family hid her in a cart and took her to the next friendly house. Given her familiarity with the woods and marshes of the region, Tubman likely hid in these locales during the day. Particulars of her first journey remain shrouded in secrecy; because other fugitive slaves used the routes, Tubman did not discuss them until later in life, when their safety was guaranteed. Tubman’s dangerous work required tremendous ingenuity and unwavering courage to succeed; she usually worked during winter months, to minimize the likelihood that the group would be found out. She was also no stranger to disguises and manipulating them in broad daylight to pass time and avoid detection. An example of this would come from what is believed to be an eye-witness account, “She always came in the winter, when the nights are long and dark, and people who have homes stay in them. Once she had made contact with escaping slaves, they left town on Saturday evenings, since newspapers would not print runaway notices until Monday morning. Tubman once disguised herself with a bonnet and carried two live chickens to give the appearance of running errands. Suddenly finding herself walking toward a former owner in Dorchester County, she yanked the strings holding the birds’ legs, and their agitation allowed her to avoid eye contact.”

While being interviewed by, at the time, famous author Wilbur Siebert in 1897, Tubman named some of the people who assisted her and the places that she would reside in while traversing the Underground Railroad. She stayed with Sam Green, a free black minister living in East New Market, Maryland; she also hid near her parents’ home at Poplar Neck. She would travel from there northeast to Sandtown and Willow Grove, Delaware, and to the Camden area where free black activists, William and Nat Brinkley and Abraham Gibbs, guided her north past Dover, Smyrna, and Blackbird, where other agents would take her across the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal to New Castle and Wilmington. In Wilmington, Quaker Thomas Garrett would secure transportation to William Still’s office or the homes of other Underground Railroad operators in the greater Philadelphia area. Still is credited with aiding hundreds of freedom seekers to escape to safer places farther north in New York, New England, and present-day Southern Ontario.

Tubman’s religious faith was another important resource to her and her lively cargo as she ventured repeatedly into Maryland. The visions from her childhood head injury continued, and she saw them as divine premonitions. She spoke of ‘consulting with God’ and trusted that He would keep her safe. Her faith in the divine provided immediate assistance. She used spirituals as coded messages, warning following travelers to potential dangers or to signal a clear path. She sang versions of ‘Go Down Moses,’ famously how she came by the nickname “Moses” and changed her lyrics to indicate whether it was either safe or too dangerous to continue. As she led fugitives across the border, she would call out, ‘Glory to God and Jesus, too. One more soul is safe!’ Her people truly were her most precious cargo.

In her later years, Tubman worked to promote the cause of women’s suffrage. A woman once asked Tubman whether she believed women should have the right to vote and received the reply: ‘I suffered enough to believe it.’ Tubman began attending meetings of suffragist organizations and was soon working alongside legendary women such as Susan B. Anthony.

After reaching Philadelphia for the first time, Tubman thought of her family. ‘I was a stranger in a strange land,’ she said later in documents. ‘My father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were in Maryland. But I was free, and they should be free.’ This is the realization that sparked an underground uprising and would prove to be a form of salvation for not just hundreds of slave families, but for the progression and betterment of this country. Ultimately striking the likes of Frederick Douglass and many other notable abolitionists, Harriet Tubman became a superpower to everyone, doing the unforeseen work that no man would have the courage to do.

One of the most famous abolitionists who impacted the future of colored individuals was Harriet Tubman. Tubman was a female abolitionist of the colored in the 1800s. Most known for the Underground Railroad.

Who was she? Tubman was born in Maryland and grew up to conduct hundreds through the Underground Railroad. Harriet Green and Ben Ross, both enslaved, gave birth to Araminta ‘Minty’ Ross. Mary Pattison Brodess was the owner of Rit (and later her son Edward). Anthony Thompson, Mary Brodess’s second husband, controlled a huge plantation near the Blackwater River in the Madison area of Dorchester County, Maryland, where Ben was kept. Although this, Tubman’s birth year was listed as 1825 on her birth certificate, while her death certificate and gravestone both said 1815. Tubman’s maternal grandmother, Modesty, arrived in the United States on a slave ship from Africa; no more details about her forebears are known. Tubman was told as a child that her character features made her seem like an Ashanti person, yet no evidence has been produced to support or refute this claim. Rit, her mother, worked as a chef for the Brodess family (and may have had a white father). Ben, her father, was an expert woodsman who oversaw Thompson’s plantation’s timber operations. They were married in 1808 and had nine children together, according to court records.

What was her “legacy”? Tubman’s only legacy was to escape slavery. Tubman became ill in 1849, lowering her slave worth. Edward Brodess tried unsuccessfully to sell her but was unable to do so. Tubman began to pray for her master, pleading with God to have him alter his ways after he tried to sell her and continued to imprison her relatives. ‘I prayed all night for my master till the first of March,’ she later explained, ‘and the whole time he was bringing people to look at me and trying to sell me.’ ‘I modified my prayer’ when it appeared that a sale was nearing completion. ‘On March 1st, I began to pray, ‘Oh Lord, if you’re never going to change that man’s heart, Lord, kill him and take him out of the way.” Tubman expressed regret for her former remarks after Brodess died a week later. Brodess’ death, like so many other estate settlements, enhanced the chances of Tubman being sold and her family being split up. Eliza, his widow, started selling the family’s slaves. Despite her husband’s best efforts, Tubman refused to wait for the Brodess family to decide her fate. ‘I had a right to one of two things: liberty or death,’ she later stated, ‘and if I couldn’t have one, I would take the other.’ On September 17, 1849, Tubman and her brothers, Ben and Henry, escaped slavery.

Harriet Tubman was notorious for helping hundreds escape. Tubman returned to the Eastern Shore of Maryland several times over the course of 11 years, liberating around 70 slaves in 13 trips, including her other brothers Henry, Ben, and Robert, as well as their wives and children. She also sent detailed directions to another 50 to 60 fugitives who had fled to the north. Her efforts earned her the nickname ‘Moses,’ a reference to the prophet in the Book of Exodus who led the Hebrews out of Egypt. Her final expedition into Maryland was to find her ailing parents. Rit, her mother, had been purchased for $20 by her father, Ben, from Eliza Brodess in 1855. Even when they were both free, the area grew hostile to them. Tubman learned two years later that her father was in danger of being arrested for concealing a group of eight fugitive slaves. She drove them north to St. Catharines, Ontario, where a colony of former slaves had assembled (including Tubman’s brothers, other relatives, and many acquaintances). Tubman’s risky labor necessitated a great deal of resourcefulness; she preferred to work during the cold months to reduce the chances of the group being discovered. ‘She always came in the winter, when the evenings are long and dark, and people who have homes stay in them,’ one admirer of Tubman observed. They left town on Saturday evenings once she had established contact with escaping slaves because newspapers did not post escape announcements until Monday morning. Her travels into the slave country put her in grave danger, and she utilized a number of deceptions to avoid being discovered. Tubman reportedly wore a bonnet and carried two live chickens to give the impression that she was running errands. She ripped the threads holding the birds’ legs when she found herself going near a former owner in Dorchester County, and their anger helped her to avoid eye contact. She later recognized a fellow train passenger as a previous master, so she grabbed a nearby newspaper and pretended to read it. The man ignored Tubman, who was known to be illiterate. However, she ignored this act of ignorance and continued to be a powerful woman overall saving 300 slaves and freeing them all.

Ultimately, Tubman was a leading abolitionist who strived for justice among the colored community. Impacting worldwide, Harriet Tubman was an impeccable leader.

What if one could save hundreds of people, or change the world in a good way, permanently, but they had to sacrifice some stuff in their life like putting their lives at risk or giving up 10 years of their own life? Would they choose it? Or would they not? Heroes are when people make a good impact on one’s life or the world in some way, or they risk their lives to save someone. They never give up; the hero will try their best to reach their goals.

First of all, to be a hero, one needs to be patient to achieve their goals. The individual needs to work hard but not be in a hurry to achieve their goal. One example of this is a historical hero named Harriet Tubman. Tubman’s goal was to save herself and hundreds of African Americans from slavery. “[She] first encountered the Underground Railroad when she used it to escape slavery herself in 1849” (Biography). After she escaped, she made a plan by herself, to save African Americans from slavery using the Underground Railroad she found in 1849. So “between 1850 and 1860, Tubman made 19 trips from the South to the North following the network known as the Underground Railroad. She guided more than 300 people, including her parents and several siblings, from slavery to freedom” (Biography). This is a perfect example of a hero being patient because Tubman worked for 10 years by herself to save more than 300 slaves and, she was patient and in no hurry. She worked hard and finally, after 10 years, achieved her goal to save African Americans from slavery. This proves that being patient is a good heroic trait, because she saved more than 300 people with patience without the patience Tubman probably wouldn’t have saved all these slaves from slavery. The White Helmets are another good example that demonstrates a hero being patient. The White Helmets are a group of patient first responders who rescue victims of bombings that get trapped under broken-down buildings or rubble. The White Helmets are normal human beings just like all other people in the world, that has a family, that decided to work as a first responder in Syria. These people only get 1 month of training, and they go to save people. Even though the workers of the White Helmets are under a lot of pressure, they still have a lot of patience to save people under the rubble. “Do you know the feeling that you get when you plant a small seed and it grows into a beautiful bush? That’s how we feel that this baby is still alive thanks to God and to our work. We feel very proud. I’ve learned many lessons from baby Mahmoud. Patience, persistence, hard work, and never to lose hope, no matter what happens, they will live” (Vialogue). The White Helmets learn a lot from each person that they save. “Since 2013, more than 130 White Helmets were killed, in the same period, they saved more than 58,000 lives” (Vialogue). This shows that being patient helps people under pressure, if the White Helmets weren’t patient and were nervous and anxious, they wouldn’t work properly because they might do something wrong, but with patience, the White Helmets got to save tens of thousands of people.

Another trait you need to be a hero is, sacrifice, you need to sacrifice your life and go into danger and save people. Something that is similar to this is the White Helmets of Syria. The White Helmets of Syria, go into bombings the second after they happen. The bombings trap a lot of people under buildings, the White Helmets have the courage to go into those dangerous buildings to save people. The White Helmets of Syria represent courage because they saved a lot of people, risking their own lives, and even some dying. Furthermore, this is why the White Helmets of Syria are very courageous.

The final trait a hero needs to become a hero is they need to be persistent. An example of this is The Children’s March. The Children’s in the Children’s March got arrested and injured. But the little kids were persistent and they kept on working hard to end racism. Thousands of kids were arrested, but when they were released, they were going at it again even though they were scared. Therefore, the Children’s March is another hero that represents a heroic trait.