Harriet Tubman (1822-1913)

Imagine that you are a slave, escaping through the nineteenth century forests of the United States. Leading you to freedom is a woman who is now seen as a hero. Her name? Harriet Tubman. 

 

Tubman was born as a slave in 1822 in Maryland and she escaped in 1849, when she was 27 years old. She was convinced that her own freedom wasn’t enough, so during the whole 1850’s she risked her life at least 13 times, returning to rescue other people via the Underground Railroad. This ‘railroad’ wasn’t a train or even underground. It was a network of secret safe houses. Harriet knew the routes and became known as ‘Moses’, guiding 70 people to freedom and helping hundreds more with her detailed instructions. 

 

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made the work even more dangerous because it allowed enslavers to capture escaped slaves, even in the Northern Free States. Those people now had to be guided all the way to Canada, instead of just to the Northern part of the US. 

 

It was dangerous, and the enslavers even put huge bounties on her head. But that didn’t scare Harriet. She once said: ‘I can say what most conductors can’t say, I never ran my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger’. 

 

After a recent voting, her face is set to appear on the $20 bill. Only delays have kept former president and enslaver Andrew Jackson on it for now. At least her legacy can’t be erased anymore. Born enslaved, she had a dream, and she became one of the greatest freedom fighters of all time.

Balkansky, Arlene. “Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad”. Library of Congress Blogs, 2020. https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2020/06/harriet-tubman-conductor-on-the-underground-railroad/.

Sources:

Pictures used:

-              Balkansky, Arlene. “Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad”. Library of Congress Blogs, 2020. https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2020/06/harriet-tubman-conductor-on-the-underground-railroad/.

-              Dawson, Shay. “Harriet Tubman”. National Women’s History Museum, 2024. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/harriet-tubman. 

-              Visser, Lillian. “Harriet Tubman en de Undergound Railroad”. Historiek, 2024. https://historiek.net/harriet-tubman-underground-railroad/60534/. 

-              “Harriet Tubman posthumously named a general in Veterans Day ceremony”. Today, 2024. https://www.today.com/news/harriet-tubman-posthumously-named-general-veterans-day-ceremony-rcna179700. 

-              Davies, John. “The Underground Railroad Aids with a Runaway Slave (oil on canvas)”. Bridgeman Images. https://www.bridgemanimages.com/fr/davies/the-underground-railroad-aids-with-a-runaway-slave-oil-on-canvas/oil-on-canvas/asset/2203407.

-              Krant, Tonya K. “The Underground Railroad”. National Geographic Kids. https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/the-underground-railroad.

-              Webber, Charles T., “The Underground Railroad”. Cincinnati Art Museum, 1893. https://picryl.com/media/the-underground-railroad-by-charles-t-webber-1893-6de2cd.

-              “Harriet Tubman”.  Danmarks Nationalleksikon. https://lex.dk/Harriet_Tubman. 

-              Lindsley, H. B. “Harriet Tubman, full-length portrait, standing with hands on back of a chair”. Library of Congress. https://loc.getarchive.net/media/harriet-tubman-full-length-portrait-standing-with-hands-on-back-of-a-chair.  

-              Mikhail, Alexa. “Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill: Biden administration says it’s resuming the effort”. The 19th News, 2021. https://19thnews.org/2021/01/harriet-tubman-20-bill/.

Informative sources: 

    - Balkansky, Arlene. “Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad”. Library of Congress Blogs, 2020. https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2020/06/harriet-tubman-conductor-on-the-underground-railroad/.

    - Dvorak, Petula. “Harriet Tubman still isn’t on the $20 bill. She’s got a coin, though”. The Washington Post, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/10/21/harriet-tubman-coin-blind-currency/.

    - Reed, Lillian. “Why is the Harriet Tubman $20 bill taking so long?”. The Baltimore Banner, 2024. https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/local-news/harriet-tubman-20-dollar-bill-7EAEVYRQDFE7RF4SRDJF5SVUJM/.

    - Dawson, Shay. “Harriet Tubman”. National Women’s History Museum, 2024. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/harriet-tubman.

    - "Harriet Tubman". Britannica, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harriet-Tubman. 

    

More literature:

    - H. Bradford, Sarah. Scenes in the life of Harriet Tubman. Auburn: W. J. Moses, 1869.

    - W. Taylor, Robert. Harriet Tubman: The heroine in ebony. Boston: George H. Ellis, 1901. 

    - Movie: Wendkos, Paul. A Woman Called Moses. Movie (Multicom Entertainment Group [MEG], 1978). https://www.amazon.com/A-Women-Called-Moses/dp/B0848D5DG7?linkCode=ogi&tag=bio-auto-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C2171.a.73826316%5Bsrc%7Cwww.google.com%5Bch%7C%5Blt%7C%5Bpid%7C93a5454d-d61a-4fcf-9188-9a0b2bea51c1%5Baxid%7Cff84e226-2fa0-47e1-af37-3613abccdb5b. 
    - More recent movie: Lemmons, Kasi. Harriet. Movie (Focus Features, 2019). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z8BKR18?linkCode=ogi&tag=bio-auto-20&ascsubtag=%5Bartid%7C2171.a.73826316%5Bsrc%7Cwww.google.com%5Bch%7C%5Blt%7C%5Bpid%7Ceb0d93e3-1502-455a-a6f1-a2474193f6a6%5Baxid%7C92865310-9037-4ce3-81bf-8e36d0ec9772.
            => Also on Netflix!