The Breathtaking Story of Harriet Tubman

Harriet Ross Tubman was many things in her long life. Slave, liberator of slaves, Union army spy, suffragette, and a public speaker. She used the force of her convictions to save lives and fight against oppression. Harriet was born into slavery in the early 1820s on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. Named Araminta or Minty at birth, she was one of nine children. Her mother, Harriet Ritt Green, was the cook on the plantation owned by Mary Pattison Broadus, while her father, Ben Ross, managed the timber business on a nearby plantation. Ritt tried to keep her family together, but when Mary Broadus' son, Edward, sold the two older girls in the family, they were separated forever. Later, when her youngest son was going to be sold to a trader in Georgia, Ritt hid him for a month with the help of other slaves and free blacks in the community. She would threaten violence to anyone who tried to take him. Eventually, Broadus backed down, and the defiant acts of her mother influenced Harriet and her belief in the possibilities of resistance. From a young age, Harriet looked after her younger siblings while her mother worked at the big house. When she was five or six, Mrs. Broadus hired her out as a general cleaner and nursemaid to a local family, the Cooks. Life was hard for Harriet because she was beaten by Mrs. Cook when she was too slow doing chores. Harriet also worked on muskrat traps in the nearby marshes. Once she became so ill from the swampy work conditions, she was sent home to recover. Fortunately, her mother was a renowned healer and was able to nurse her back to health. Then she was sent to work as a nursemaid for a woman known as Miss Susan, which was another painful experience. Harriet was whipped anytime the baby she cared for woke up and cried. On one occasion, she received five beatings before breakfast. So, she started to wear extra layers of clothing as protection, and she even ran away for a week. In her early teens, Harriet suffered a serious head injury when she was struck by a metal weight thrown by an overseer. He had been aiming at another slave who was making an escape attempt. The blow is believed to have fractured her skull. She was left untreated for several days, and for the rest of her life, she experienced excruciating headaches, seizures, and sudden narcoleptic episodes. The injury also believed to have caused visions and vivid dreams, which she saw as messages from God. Although illiterate, she was taught Bible stories from her mother. She preferred the Old Testament, where enslaved people were freed, rather than the New Testament with its emphasis on obedience. When Harriet's father, Ben, turned 45, he was granted his freedom, as promised by his owner, Andrew Thompson. Some years later, Ben hired a lawyer to investigate his wife's status. It had been made a similar promise by Mrs. Brodess's father, but it had never been honored. However, making a successful legal challenge was almost impossible. In 1844, Harriet married a free black man called John Tubman and legally changed her name from Araminta. John Tubman was older, and the marriage was complicated due to her slave status, and according to law, any children they had would be considered property. In 1849, Edward Brodess attempted to sell Harriet due to her continued ill health. He was unsuccessful. During this, Harriet prayed that Brodess would die, but when this happened a short time later, she said that she regretted her earlier prayers. With Brodess's death, it was even more likely that Harriet and her immediate family members would be sold. She would not wait for that to happen. On September 17, 1849, she tried to escape with her brothers, Henry and Ben. At the time, all three had been loaned out to a nearby plantation, so their absence was not immediately noticed. A reward of $100, about $3,100 in modern currency, was offered. But within days, all three had returned. Harriet was the most reluctant. Soon after, she escaped for good via the Underground Railroad. This was a network of abolitionists in the United States and Canada who guided escaped slaves to the free states and provinces of the North. It was a diverse group made up of men, women, free blacks, slaves, both white and indigenous supporters, Quakers, Methodists, and Baptists. Like the escapees who had gone before and would go after her, Harriet traveled by night and took shelter in safe houses during the day. She traveled this way to avoid the bounty hunters patrolling the area. She was guided to freedom across the Mason-Dixon Line by using the North Star Railway and oral instructions from railroad operators. Once safely in Philadelphia, Harriet joined the local abolitionists, one of which was William Still. Still admitted his life's work to help runaway slaves and kept detailed records in the hopes that they would be reunited with family members. He was instrumental in helping Harriet bring families along the Underground Route. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed in Congress. It severely punished anyone who aided escapees and compelled law enforcement officials to help in their capture. This law even applied in states which had outlawed slavery. So, the railroad extended itself to Southern Ontario to escape the new law's jurisdiction mandate. Canada was part of the British Empire, where slavery had been abolished years earlier. At the end of 1850, Harriet's niece, Marianne, and her two children were about to be auctioned near Baltimore. Marianne's husband, who was a free man, and Harriet concocted a plan that had him making a winning bid at the auction. Then, when the time was right, he and his family would run to a safe house before handing any money over. Harriet then guided them all to Philadelphia. In the spring of 1851, she journeyed to Maryland to rescue more of her family members. That fall, Harriet returned to Dorchester County. She was going to find her husband, John. However, in her absence, he had married another woman. Rather than wasting the opportunity, she guided others to safety. With the Fugitive Slave Law in place, more escapees were making their way to Canada. In December 1851, Harriet helped at least 11 people cross into Southern Ontario. At this time, she may have made the acquaintance of well-known abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and a friendship based on mutual admiration began. For most of the decade before the start of the American Civil War, Harriet used St. Catharines, Ontario, then Canada West, as a base for the Underground Railroad. Over 11 years, Harriet returned often to Maryland. At the end of her career, she had led about 300 people to freedom. She rescued many family members, including her brothers and their families, and her aging parents. Harriet was nicknamed Moses after the Old Testament patriarch who had led his people out of slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. Like Moses, Harriet had to craft ways of carrying out her dangerous work. She guided during the fall and winter when the cold weather and long nights tended to keep people in their homes. She made a point of starting the trek with escaped slaves on Saturday evenings. This meant that newspaper notices offering rewards from irate owners would not appear until Monday at the earliest. She used disguises to avoid detection or recognition, and carried a gun, not only for protection but sometimes as an incentive to any person who had second thoughts about completing an escape. Harriet always cited her deep and abiding faith as a source of strength and guidance. She said that her visions guided her as she faced treacherous terrain, search dogs, and bands of roving slave hunters. She boasted that, despite there being a reward for the capture of Moses, she never lost a passenger and was never caught. Harriet began to give public talks about slavery and made the acquaintance of well-known abolitionist John Brown. After he was executed for his leading role in the failed raid on Harper's Ferry in Virginia, she declared him a martyr to the cause. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Harriet journeyed to Port Royal, South Carolina, offering her services to the Union forces which had captured a former Confederate stronghold. She made use of her knowledge of herbal medicines to nurse sick soldiers and civilian refugees. She also worked as a cook and laundress. She was an early proponent of creating Black Union regiments with freed slaves and had harsh words for President Abraham Lincoln's initial hesitation about emancipation. Harriet formed a network of spies to deliver intelligence to Confederate troops and supply routes soon after emancipation was declared in January of 1863. Later that year, Harriet led an armed expedition during the Civil War, the first woman to do so. She guided the Combee River Raid in South Carolina, which liberated over 700 slaves and destroyed valuable Confederate supplies. The Civil War ended in 1865, and Harriet settled for good in Auburn, New York. Now widowed, she married a war veteran, Nelson Davis, who, like her, had been enslaved. They adopted a daughter named Gertie. The property in Auburn had been a haven for her family and friends for many years. With emancipation came increased problems of poverty, homelessness, and hunger in the Black community. Harriet did her part to help those around her. She had an open-door policy for anyone in need, raising money from the sale of homegrown produce and pigs, and with the donations from friends. The royalties from the sale of a biography by Sarah Bradford also helped offset expenses. Unfortunately, since Harriet had not been designated as an official member of the military, she had never received a salary from the Union Army or a pension like other veterans. It wasn't until Nelson died in 1888 that she finally received money as a war widow. It was the sum of $8 a month, equivalent to about $770 in modern currency. In her late 60s, Harriet began speaking about women's rights and voting. Although Black men had gained the right to vote in 1870, women, regardless of race, were still unable to exercise their franchise. She joined other suffragettes, such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, on speaking engagements. She was also the keynote speaker at the first meeting of the National Federation of Afro-American Women in 1896. That same year, Harriet made a successful bid on a 25-acre property in Auburn. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church helped with the mortgage. Later, she donated a parcel of land to the church for the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, which opened in 1908. While the country of her birth was slow to recognize her contributions, Harriet's brave exploits had reached the attention of Britain's Queen Victoria. In 1897, she was invited to the monarch's birthday celebrations in England. Financial straits prevented her from making the journey, but the Queen sent a silk shawl and a silver medal. Harriet treasured these gifts for the rest of her life and was buried with the medal. In her later years, she underwent surgery to relieve some of the continuing painful symptoms of the head injury. Due to her health deteriorating, she moved into the rest home she had founded in 1911. She remained there until her death on March 10, 1913. Her last words were, I go to prepare a place for you. It is believed that she was about 91 years old. Her funeral was described as a grand affair by the newspapers. The mourners included white and black Americans, all joined in their sorrow at her passing and admiration and thankfulness for her life. She was laid to rest with semi-military honors in the Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn. Harriet's place in American history cannot be denied. She has been the source of movies, operas, novels, paintings, and sculptures over the years. Harriet was and still is an icon and inspiration to all those striving for freedom, justice, and equality. An American survey named her as one of the most famous civilians, accompanied with Revolutionary War figures Betsy Ross and Paul Revere. In 2016, it was announced that she would replace President Andrew Jackson on the United States' $20 bill, but that plan has been put on hold. Harriet was modest about her work, as illustrated by this quote, It wasn't me, it was the Lord. I always told him, I trust you. I do not know where to go or what to do, but I expect you to lead me, and he always did. Her light continues to shine. To discover more about the fascinating life of Harriet Tubman, then check out our book, Harriet Tubman, A Captivating Guide to an American Abolitionist Who Became the Most Famous Conductor of the Underground Railroad. It's available as an e-book, paperback, and audiobook. Also, grab your free mythology bundle e-book while it is still available. All links are in the description. If you enjoyed the video, please hit the like button and subscribe for more videos like this.