Harriet Ross Tubman

Harriet Tubman standing proud

A hero to me is someone who sets a good example and helps people without a selfish motive. A hero must be determined in whatever they are trying to achieve and persevere at it. In order to do that they have to be courageous and only think about what should be done.

She was born as Araminta Ross around 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland into a family of purely African ancestry. She was the forth child of nine children of her parents Ben and Harriet Greene Ross. In honor of her mother she took the name Harriet and at age 25 she married John Tubman, a free black men. She was raised under harsh conditions. Once when she was a child she received a serious blow in the head and because of that, suffered narcolepsy for the rest of her life.

Because her parents were both held into slavery she was a slave all her life and whippings were not rare. She rarely lived with her owner and was hired out to other masters since the age of six. Luckily for her she was not sold early on, like her three sisters Linah, Soph and Mariah Ritty. Later on though afraid she was going to be sold to the Deep South and away from her family, she decided she had enough. She was going to escape to the north where she would be free from slavery. She was helped on the way by some Quakers and other people supporting the Abolitionist Movement. After rescuing herself she came back for her family and later played a major role in freeing many more.

Harriet Tubman was a hero to others near and far. Some she helped to escape slavery by going to the North and also directly helped all the millions of other slaves when she helped end slavery. She was known as the Moses of her people. While on her journeys she made sure no one was left behind and if someone wanted to give up, the choice was death. Her trips to Canada were very well planned out, using the Underground Railroad to get safely to Maryland and following the North Star. Not only did she help rescue many slaves to freedom, but she also helped out the Union during the Civil War. She was a nurse, soldier, and even a spy where she served at Fortress Monroe. Tubman was associated with many upstate abolitionists like John Brown who she worked with and apparently missed the raid Harper’s Ferry because of her illness. Even after the civil war she returned to Auburn NY and helped support women’s rights.

Harriet Tubman at her home in Auburn, NY.

Harriet Tubman well resembles my description of what a hero ought to be. She definitely didn’t have to come back for all those other trapped slaves and rescue them. Despite the fact that her life was in danger and she could be captured again, she still put that risk to help others get their freedom, showing that she’s not selfish. Harriet was very determined at stopping slavery and despite all the obstacles on her many journeys she never left anyone harmed. Harriet Tubman was a monument of courage and she never had any personal fear because she was only thought about what she needs to do and how she’s going to do it.