Harriet Tubman
By
John C Abercrombie
The name Harriet Tubman has been heard by many people, both for her work freeing enslaved people and being proposed as the new face of the United States of America’s $20.00 bill.
We will take a look at this remarkable woman, her life, her work and the circumstances that gave rise to her risky work.
Most historians believe the date of her birth is January 1922, although there are records suggesting it may have been as early as 1815 or as late as 1825. She was born Araminta Ross and called “Minty”. Her mother was Harriet “Rit” Green and her father Ben Ross. The family was complicated by the fact that her parents were owned by different people.
Her mother Harriet was owned by Mary Pattison Brodess. Her father Ben Ross was owned by Anthony Thompson. Further complicated by the fact that Anthony Thompson became Mary Brodess’ s 2nd husband. Thompson ran a large plantation in Madison, Maryland.
It is believed that Araminta’s grandmother came to America aboard a slave ship and may have been Ashanti. Her mother Harriet was possible fathered by her Mother’s White owner.
Her father Ben Ross was a skilled woodsman who managed the timber work on the Thompson’s plantation. Ben and Harriet had 9 children together.
Araminta’s parents struggled to keep the family together. Edward Brodess, Mary Pattison Brodess’s son became the owner of the family and sold 3 of the daughters, taking them from the family forever. This was a cruel reality of slavery that plagued the sanctity of enslaved Black families. Slave owners “claimed” that slaves were incapable of grieving.
When a slave trader tried to buy her youngest son, Harriet, Araminta’s mother hid him for a month with the aid of other slaves and free blacks in the community. When the slave trader and Edward Brodess came to the slave quarters to seize the child. Araminta’s mother said “you are after my son; but the first man that comes into my house, I will split his head open.” They backed away and the sale was off.
History paints a picture that slaves were docile and accepted the horrible treatment. That they never grieved or showed human emotion despite countless examples where slaved displayed extreme courage in the face of severe physical punishment or even death!
Other realities of slavery were present in Araminta’s childhood. Her mother worked in the “Big House” and did not have the luxury of raising her own children. That chore fell to Araminta and she took care of a younger brother and a baby.
Brodess hired Araminta out to “Miss Susan”, a cruel and inconsiderate woman to watch her baby. If the baby cried for any reason, Araminta was whipped. She recounted that on one day she was lashed 5 times before breakfast and suffered scars she carried for the rest of her life.
As a slave, you had no childhood. You were property and that property represented free labor, nothing more, nothing less. There was no free time as you were not providing free labor when at play. There was no time for education as you were not earning anything for your owner during this time. Besides, education represents a free mind and it is impossible to enslave the body of a person who has a free mind.
While still a child, Araminta also worked for a planter named James Cook. She was expected to check muskrat traps in the marshes. When she became too sick to check the traps after getting the measles, Cook took her back to Brodess. When she got well, she was hired out again. Showing once again that slaves were not viewed with any compassion, only as a source of money for the greedy owners.
As she grew stronger, she was given field and forest work, driving oxen, plowing and even hauling logs.
One day when Araminta was sent to the store for supplies she was hit in the head with a 2-pound weight thrown by the owner of another slave who threw it at the slave because he had left the field without permission.
Araminta claims that her hair which had never been combed and which stood out like a bushel basket, saved her life. She suffered bleeding and unconsciousness. She was taken to Brodess and given no medical treatment. When she was sent back to the fields to work, 2 days later she had blood and sweat rolling down her face until she couldn’t see. Then Brodess tried to sell her.
She suffered many affects from the head injury the rest of her life.
In 1840, her father Ben was freed by provisions in the owner’s will. He continued to work for the family as a timber estimator and foreman. A very responsible job, requiring detailed knowledge.
Araminta had a White attorney check the status of her Mother and found a similar provision, freeing her and her children, however the Brodess family simply ignored the provision.
In 1844, Araminta married John Tubman. There were complications in the marriage due to her slave status. The problem was due to the law which stated that the children take the status of the mother and Araminta was a slave, her husband John Tubman was free.
Thus, from this union, any children would be slaves based on the status of the mother and not the status of the father, who was free.
A plan was created to escape the devastating effects on the family, and this involved her taking her husbands name and in honor of her mother (Harriet) she took her first name. Becoming from this time forward, she was known as Harriet Tubman.
In 1849, she became ill, which decreased her value as a slave, so Brodess tried to sell her rather than have her as a liability. Slavery was only a system to provide value to the owner and no consideration of the slaves as human beings.
Brodess became ill himself and when he died the likelihood that Harriet would be sold increased. At that point, Harriet decided to escape. While her husband was a free person, she was not.
Freedom was extremely important to Tubman. Despite her husband trying to get her not to, she ran away to escape the possibility of being sold away from her family. Her philosophy was “There was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.”
In 1849, Tubman ran away with 2 of her brothers, however they had second thoughts and persuaded her to return with them.
Soon after her first escape, Tubman escaped for good. Because she valued freedom so highly, she became a conductor on the Underground railroad.
The underground railroad was neither underground nor a railroad. It was a closely held network of people who helped runaway slaves escape the brutal system and find their way to freedom.
There are 2 important parts of this system. 1 – conductors – people who take slaves from one place to another and 2 – station masters – people who provide safe havens for people on their journey to freedom. Harriet Tubman became one of the most successful conductors of all time, leading over 300 people to freedom. She never lost a passenger on her train.
Although she was never taught to read or write, she had strong skills and was able to read the sky, the terrain and most important of all, people. All skills that require a high level of intellect.
William Lloyd Garrison gave her the name “Moses” based on the biblical book of Exodus, referring to the prophet who led the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt.
All those participating in the underground railroad were in danger. Escaped slaves, such as Harriet Tubman were subject to re-enslavement if they returned. Anyone who helped a slave were subject to the sanctions of the fugitive slave laws, passed in 1793 and made more strict by the 1850 laws.
The fugitive slave laws played a role in the life of Solomon Northup the free man in the book and movie “12 Years A Slave”. Northup was a free Black man, tricked, captured and sold into slavery. He spent 12 years in slavery, all because someone “claimed” he was a run away slave.
The slave laws made it mandatory for people, even those who did not believe in slavery responsible for helping capture a runaway. There were legal sanctions imposed on those who aided in anyway the runaway slave.
Although there is credible information that supports Northup being free, the ultimate irony is that his word was not accepted in court. Courts did not recognize the testimony of a Black person against a White person.
In 1851, Tubman risked her own freedom, returning to help slaves seeking freedom. In 1987, she was interviewed by Wilbur Siebert, revealing many details of her work.
The fugitive slave laws began to make even the northern states dangerous place for escaped slaves. In 1851, Tubman guided a group of 11 to Southern Ontario, Canada. She may well have stopped at the home of abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
In his 3rd autobiography, Douglass wrote, “On one occasion, I had 11 fugitives at the same time under my roof, and it was necessary for them to remain with me until I could collect sufficient money to get them on to Canada. It was the largest number I ever had at any one time, and I had some difficulty in providing so many with food and shelter.” The number of people and the time of the visit make it extremely likely that this was Tubman’s group.
One of her last missions was the rescue of her parents. Ben, her father had purchased Rit, (Tubman’s mother Harriet), but the area was hostile to them. Tubman received word that her father had provided safe harbor to 7 runaways and was at risk of arrest. She went to the Eastern Shore of Maryland and led them to St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada where a community of former slaves including her brothers and others.
Tubman displayed not only devotion to freedom but put her own freedom in jeopardy each time she led people to freedom!
Tubman was introduced to John Brown in April 1858. Brown was a staunch abolitionist to free people. Thus, he began to work with “General Tubman as he called her. Her knowledge of support networks and resources was invaluable to Brown and his planners.
In early 1859, Tubman bought some land in the outskirts of Auburn, New York, a hotbed of anti-slavery activism. Tubman was able to bring her parents there, sparing them the harsh winters in Canada. The hidden danger of being in America is that they were at risk of being returned to the south under the Fugitive Slave Law, which required everyone to help in the capture of a person suspected of being a runaway.
We most often associate Harriet Tubman with leading slaves to freedom, hence the often-used name “Moses”, however she has accomplished so much more. Her entire life has been dedicated to helping people seek freedom by whatever means possible.
*We will now look at other outstanding accomplishments that would represent an amazing life’s work for anyone without the above dedication. Please see part II to be published next week!
Harriet Tubman has been proposed for placement on the United States of America $20.00 bill, however, the honor has been delayed several times and is currently being delayed once again. Contrast this to Canada placing Viola Desmond on the $10.00 bill.
Click this link for this fascinating story.
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Harriet Tubman for Kids
Learn about Harriet Tubman in this biography video for kids. She helped rescue over 300 people from slavery through the Underground Railroad. She fought for African American and women’s rights and serves as an inspiration to millions of people!
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Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom
Celebrated for her courageous exploits as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman has entered history as one of nineteenth-century America’s most enduring and important figures. But just who was this remarkable woman? To John Brown, leader of the Harpers Ferry slave uprising, she was General Tubman. For the many slaves she led north to freedom, she was Moses. To the slaveholders who sought her capture, she was a thief and a trickster. To abolitionists, she was a prophet. Now, in a biography widely praised for its impeccable research and its compelling narrative, Harriet Tubman is revealed for the first time as a singular and complex character, a woman who defied simple categorization
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Echo
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Torchlighters: The Harriet Tubman Story (2018) | Full Movie | Tanasha Friar | Mario Mims | Al Raya
Every day Harriet Tubman prayed for deliverance from the oppression of slavery. Little did she know, God had a plan, and she was part of it.
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Women’s Sandals
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Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People (African American)
This simple, unvarnished account recalls the courageous life of Harriet Tubman, one of the best-known “conductors” on the Underground Railroad. First published in 1869 and privately printed to raise funds for “the Moses of her people,” Sarah Bradford’s memorable biography recalls the former slave’s grim childhood; her perilous experiences leading slaves into Canada; her efforts as a Civil War nurse, cook, and scout for the Union Army; and her post-conflict endeavors to aid and educate former slaves.
An inspiring story of bravery, perseverance, and self-sacrifice, this accurate, reliable account by Tubman’s contemporary is essential reading for students of American history and African-American studies.
ABH – Harriet The Moses of Her People
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Plus Size Tops for Women
ABH – Plus Size Tops for Women
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Harriett Tubman Biography (Black History Month for Kids/Children)
In our Harriet Tubman Mini Biography watch a quick cartoon/video lesson on the Underground Railroad & Civil War Icon. Great for Black History Month for Children/kids, about fighting slavery with the Underground Railroad.
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Baby Monitor
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Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom (Caldecott Honor Book)
This poetic book is a resounding tribute to Tubman’s strength, humility, and devotion. With proper reverence, Weatherford and Nelson do justice to the woman who, long ago, earned over and over the name Moses.
ABH – Moses When Harriet Tubman Led Her People
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Plus Size Pants for Women
ABH – Plus Size Pants for Women
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Biography of Harriet Tubman for Kids: American Civil Rights History for Children – FreeSchool
Harriet Tubman is most famous for her courageous journeys back to the South to liberate slaves after she had won her own freedom. Born into slavery, she escaped to freedom as a young woman. Not content with freedom if her family could not be free, she returned over and over again to slave territory and led others north along the Underground Railroad. Once war broke out, Harriet Tubman served as a nurse, scout, and spy, leading an assault that liberated more than 750 slaves. She lived the rest of her long life as a free woman in New York.
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Offers you will love – they are updated daily Check often
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Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad
A New York Times Outstanding Book for young adult readers, this biography of the famed Underground Railroad abolitionist is a lesson in valor and justice.
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Body Scales
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Harriet Tubman Museum Cape May
Cape May’s project to restore a Historic home into the Harriet Tubman Museum. Please help contribute a tax deductible donation to: The Harriet Tubman Museum PO Box 2385, Cape May, NJ 08204
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Women’s Sunglasses
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Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman
Born into slavery, young Harriet Tubman knew only hard work and hunger. Escape seemed impossible – certainly dangerous. Yet Harriet did escape North, by the secret route called the Underground Railroad. Harriet didn’t forget her people. Again, and again she risked her life to lead them on the same secret, dangerous journey.
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Home Repair Book
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Harriet Tubman and The Underground Railroad (1964) | Ruby Dee
The excellent Ruby Dee plays the escaped slave Harriet Tubman and her attempts to rescue enslaved family members and friends through the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad. aka “Go Down Moses.” With Brock Peters, Ossie Davis, Isabel Cooley and Ethel Waters. Shared for historical purposes. I do not own the rights.
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The Litigators: A Novel
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I am Harriet Tubman (Ordinary People Change the World)
This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great–the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of one of America’s icons in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers and that always includes the hero’s childhood influences. At the back are an excellent timeline and photos. This volume focuses on Harriet Tubman’s brave heroism as part of the movement to abolish slavery. As one of the key players in the Underground Railroad, she helped enslaved African Americans escape and find freedom
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Keurig
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Dawn of Day: Stories from the Underground Railroad
Dawn of Day is a historical documentary about the Underground Railroad in Kansas that brings to light Wabaunsee County’s unsung heroes who traversed one of the most turbulent times in our nation’s history. Faith, family, and politics united a community of neighbors who lived and died to ensure Kansas was a free state. Richard Pitts, director of the Wonder Workshop in Manhattan, Kansas, narrates the film and interviews educators, historians and descendants of abolitionists whose shared heritage lives on in the freedom we enjoy today.
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