Harriet Tubman Essay -- essays research papers

Early Years Her real name was Harriet Beecher Stowe. Born as a salve on June 14, 1820 on a plantation in Maryland. There were 8 children in her family and she was the sixth. When she was five, her Mother died. Her Father remarried one year later and in time had three more children. Her Father always wanted her to be a boy. When Harriet was only 13 years old, she tried to stop a person from being whipped and went between the two people. The white man hit her in the head with a shovel and she blacked out. From then on she had awful migraines and would sometimes just collapse on the ground while she was working. She served as a field hand and house servant on a Maryland plantation. In 1844 she married John Tubman, who was a free black. In 1849 she escaped to the North, where slaves could be free before the outbreak of the American Civil war. In 1861 she made 19 trips back to help lead other slaves. She led them to freedom along the clandestine route known as the Underground Railroad. She also led a n estimated 300 slaves to freedom including her mother and father and six of her 11 brothers and sisters. Adult Years Harriet ¡Ã‚ ¦s first rescue was in Baltimore, where she led her sister, Mary Ann Bowlet and her two children to the North. In 1849, Harriet was to be sold to a slave trader. She was taken from her husband and didn ¡Ã‚ ¦t know where she was going to end up. She escaped that night. She traveled only when it was dark and slept during the day. She would hide in haystacks, barns, and houses. Harriet would always carry a revolver during her many trips to the South because a slave who returned to slavery could reveal people who facilitated the passages of escapees by offering them food ad shelter. Harriet would threaten to shoot anyone who out of fear of being caught decided to return during the trip north. Slave owners offer a $40,000 reward to release the free slaves. Harriet was a legendary figure. The black children would call her  ¡Ã‚ §Aunt Harriet ¡Ã‚ ¨. Harriet got a letter from Queen Victoria in the mail. She was the Queen of England. She invited Harriet to her birthday and also sent her 2 boxes filled with a black silk shawl, and a medal which showed the queen ¡Ã‚ ¦s family. It was her Diamond Jubilee Medal. Towards the end of the war Harriet went to the hospital at Fort Monroe. She cleaned up the hospital... ...ar. She made claims against the government for black soldiers pay and/or pension. „h Harriet was sold and separated from her family, so she ran away at age twenty-eight and found her way to freedom on the  ¡Ã‚ §Underground Railroad. ¡Ã‚ ¨ There she led slaves out of the South to freedom in the North or Canada. These fearless blacks were called  ¡Ã‚ §Conductors ¡Ã‚ ¨ on the Underground Railroad. Blacks called her  ¡Ã‚ §Moses ¡Ã‚ ¨ because she led her people to freedom. „h Harriet appeared as a guest speaker with Elizabeth Cody Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, pronouncing the rights of women ¡Ã‚ ¦s suffrage and control of property and wages. „h Harriet made over nineteen trips to the South in which she led over three hundred slaves to freedom. She never lost one person and was never captured. „h After the Civil War Harriet continued to devote her life to others and spoke for the rights of women as well as the newly freed blacks. She opened a home for the elderly and needy blacks. In conclusion, Harriet Tubman was an influence on everyone because of her courage, strength, and efforts. Harriet ¡Ã‚ ¦s wits, brains, and strength helped her live as long as she did and survive through the cold, dark world for blacks.