-----------------------------------Harriet Tubman------------------------------------

Presented by the National Women's History Museum

Alexandria, VA

        

Harriet Tubman’s birth name is Araminta “Minty” Ross was born into slavery in Dorchester, Maryland between 1832-1833. Her family consisted of her mother, father, and eight siblings.

Because she was a slave, she had no formal education. In her childhood, she was rented out to other locations to work rather than staying in a single plantation. A two pound lead weight was thrown at her for standing up for another slave, causing her to experience
migraines and narcolepsy for the rest of her life. After she escaped and met her husband, she changed her name to Harriet in order to honor her mother, and she took her husband’s surname.

In 1840, her father was set free by the terms of the will of their landowner, and Harriet’s
mother and children were supposed to be set free by the will. However, they were not
released, and they remained in slavery. She and her two brothers attempted to escape, but
the brothers turned back. Harriet continued on through the 90 miles to freedom using the
Underground Railroad alone, and she settled in Philadelphia. She was known as the
“Moses” of her people because she returned to lead about 70 family members and friends
to freedom as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, and she never lost a slave. She
brought only a few people at a time, utilizing safe houses to shelter the slaves. This was a
great danger because she risked returning to slavery. The ransom for her, alive or dead,
was about forty thousand dollars.

       

During the Civil War, she worked as a nurse, cook, and a spy for the Union, and her
skills made her extremely valuable to the army. She is known as the first African American
woman to be a part of the military, and the first woman to lead a military raid. Through her
work in the Union, she gained vital information on the Confederate torpedos. On June 2nd,
1863, she lead 150 slaves on the Combahee River Raid in which about 750 slaves were to
be lead to freedom in just one raid. Only one slave was stopped from getting on the gun
boat. After this successful raid, not until a month later, a journalists published a novel about
her life to honor her bravery.

                                                          Underground Railroad

When the Civil War finally ended in 1865, she stayed active with supporting women’s
rights and held rallies. She didn’t have a lot of money but started a home for people who
were poor. She moved into this house and later died there. She died of old age in 1913 in
her late 80s or early 90s. Today, her legacy lives on as a primary leader for African
American and women’s rights.