Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman (http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/student_d ean/multicultural_affairs/calendar/ febheritage.shtml)

“For us, someone who is willing to step forward and help is much more courageous than someone who is merely fulfilling the role” (Wheatley, Margaret J). This quote helps to describe a young woman stuck in a time of hardships and renounce: Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Dorchester County, Maryland around 1820. “At age five or six, she began to work as a house servant. Seven years later she was sent to work in the fields” (“Harriet Tubman” PBS Online). In 1849 she ran away from her slave owner and began her journey towards freedom. After escaping she dedicated herself to fighting for freedom. Harriet Tubman followed the North Star at night, making her way to Pennsylvania and soon after to Philadelphia, where she found work and saved her money. After gaining a certain amount of money, she began to rescue slaves and guide them along the underground railroad to Pennsylvania. Later she began to direct the slaves/passengers to the small town in Ontario, Canada. Slavery was outlawed in Canada so she knew that the slaves would be free as soon as they crossed the border. “During a ten-year span she made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom. And, as she once proudly pointed out to Frederick Douglass, in all of her journeys she ‘never lost a single passenger’” (“Harriet Tubman” PBS Online). “Tubman gained international acclaim as an Underground Railroad operator, abolitionist, Civil War spy and nurse, suffragist, and humanitarian” (“Harriet Tubman” 1822-1913) She fought for herself and for hundreds of others. By 1857 Harriet Tubman had rescued her entire family. Harriet fought for something many others never dared to take a stand against. It was freedom from slavery. She believed everyone had the right to this freedom. By becoming one of the best abolitionists of the century, Harriet Tubman made great strides towards freedom. Through hard work, perseverance, dedication, and courage, she made these dreams possible.

Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad Route (http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t45/maggie 6138/maggie4/harriet6.gif)

Harriet Tubman's courageous acts make her my hero. She stood up for what was right: “In the late fall of 1849 Tubman took her own liberty” (“Harriet Tubman” [1822-1913]). She escaped from slavery. She went against what everyone around her believed to be a way of life because she knew it was the right thing. Tubman felt that she deserved a better life than the one she was living. She was willing to do whatever it took to get a better life for herself and other slaves. Her courage saved hundreds and hundreds of people from slavery. Harriet’s belief in freedom for every human being gave her strength: “Tubman had made the previous trip to slave country 19 times by 1860, including one especially challenging journey in which she rescued her 70-year-old parents” (“Harriet Tubman” PBS Online). She had to be very strong physically and mentally to be able to make this difficult journey so many times with the risk of getting caught each time! Harriet Tubman sent out on many life threatening journeys just to save and help other slaves to freedom. Not only did she deeply care for herself and family, but for hundreds of others.

Harriet Tubman (http://www.civilwarhome.com/images/ tubman.jpg)

Harriet Tubman had perseverance because she never gave up on her fight for freedom. She acted upon her own goals and dreams to become a leader in the freedom of slaves: “Despite the hardships inflicted upon her and the unfairness of them, Harriet used her labors for self discipline and set for herself the goal of escaping to the North” (“Harriet Tubman” Woman in History). She set big goals for herself even when there was little to no hope. Harriet Tubman could have given up on each trip that she made, but she was determined to reach her goal of freedom. The idea of giving up was never an option for Tubman: “She made the dangerous trip back to the South soon after to rescue her brother and two other men.” “Undeterred, she found other slaves seeking freedom and escorted them to the North” (“Harriet Tubman” PBS Online). She knew saving others from slavery could get her killed, but it didn't matter to her! She did whatever she could to save and protect the slaves from harm. Harriet traveled at night and carried both medication and a shotgun to keep the weary slaves safe. She did what her heart told her, set her own goals, and managed to reach them no matter how difficult they seemed to be.

Harriet Tubman saved her family (She is on the fa (http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ ViewLoitDa.do%3Bjsessionid=179AE7AAE966C EE990E29781FCDDC1C7?method=preview&l ang=EN&id=3148)

As Harriet Tubman once said “I would fight for my liberty so long as my strength lasted, and if the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me” (“Harriet Tubman Quotes”). Harriet Tubman said to never give up. She inspires others including myself to go all out and to do your best. Harriet Tubman’s perseverance and courageousness inspires me to stay strong and to never give up through all the hard ships: “Working as a field hand while a young teen, Tubman was nearly killed by a blow to her head from an iron weight, thrown by an angry overseer at another fleeing slave. The severe injury left her suffering from headaches, seizures and sleeping spells that plagued her for the rest of her life” ("Harriet Tubman" 1822-1913). Even though she was traumatized as a young girl she still grew up to make a difference in hundreds of people’s lives. "By 1856, Tubman's capture would have brought a $40,000 reward from the South" ("Harriet Tubman" PBS Online). Harriet Tubman knew what she was doing was breaking the law and could get her killed but she didn't care. She had such a strong belief in what she was doing and she wasn't about to let anything stand in her way. She gave hope to people in a time of sadness and depression. Harriet Tubman is an example of a strong willed woman in our history who played an important role to end the suffering of slaves. Her examples of courage and perseverance make her my inspirational hero.

"Harriet Tubman." PBS Online. WGBH Educational Foundation, n.d.Web.31 Mar 2011. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.html.

"Harriet Tubman Quotes." Brainy Quote. BookRags Media Network, 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/harriet_tubman.html#ixzz1JTCOjE4F.

"Harriet Tubman." Women in History. Lakewood Public Library, n.d. Web. 31 Mar 2011. http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/tubm-har.htm.

"Harriet Tubman (1822-1913)." Florda Abolitionist. FloridaAbolitionist.org, n.d. Web. 31 Mar 2011. http://www.floridaabolitionist.org/2010/07/20/harriet-tubman/.

"Tubman, Harriet." U*X*L Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Sonia Benson, Daniel E. Brannen, Jr., and Rebecca Valentine. Ed. Lawrence W. Baker and Sarah Hermsen. Vol. 8. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 1583-1586. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.

Wheatley, Margaret J. "Margaret J. Wheatley Quotes." Brainy Quotes. BookRags Media Network, 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. http://www.brainyquote.com/ quotes/quotes/m/margaretj283908.html.