Harriet Tubman

Franco Sciarrino

Mrs. Furtado

High School English 2: Period 2

17 March 2018

The Run to Freedom and Equality

The risk she had to makeLLC, ABM T-shirts. “Harriet Tubman - Wanted.” Harriet Tubman Wanted, 22 Feb. 2018, www.urbanprofile.com/urban-profile/harriet-tubman-wanted/.          Imagine being so scared with the cold air running down your face, the silent thundering of your footsteps, and the heavy breathing of others running by your side. Helping the slaves who can’t talk back, the slaves running for freedom, the slaves like her escape through the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman became the most famous railroad conductor in history by giving herself and others freedom. Born in 1820 at Dorchester, Maryland, as a child, Tubman was struck by a brick causing her to have seizures for the rest of her life. But, as an adult, Tubman helped abolish slavery around 1840. She made 19 trips between the North and South to free over 300 slaves but never left anyone behind. Harriet Tubman is a hero because she was brave for freeing slaves, helpful during the civil war as a spy and cook, and passionate throughout all her encounters of discrimination of all people. Harriet Tubman exemplifies the traits of a hero because of her repeated demonstration of bravery, helpfulness and passion.

          Harriet Tubman epitomizes bravery. She helped slaves escape through the Underground Railroad to show others that life now could only get better. Her success throughout the journey made her well known: “Harriet Tubman is perhaps the most well-known of all the Underground Railroad ‘conductors.’ 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”’(PBS Public Broadcasting). In a ten year span, she bravely saved as many slaves as she could. She risked her freedom to free others many times. This proves how dedicated she was to free all slaves. If she were caught, she would be beaten, her freedom would be taken from her, and she may have been killed for her acts of kindness. She took a long time deciding whether or not she should risk her freedom or save others. She decided to free them even when certain people could slow her down: “Among the slaves she liberated were her elderly parents and ten of her brothers and sisters”(“Harriet Tubman” Activists). Even though her parents may have wanted to protect her, she allowed her risk of death to increase by slowing down to make sure everyone could escape. She showed bravery because she risked her life and freedom to save others.

          Harriet Tubman is a hero because she was very helpful as a spy and cook providing useful information and food for the Union Army in the Civil War. During the war, President Lincoln issued a proclamation to free all slaves: “In the summer of 1863—the year that President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves—Tubman went to Charleston, South Carolina. There she served as a scout and a spy for an all-black Union regiment led by Colonel James Montgomery”(“Harriet Tubman” Activists). Tubman and all slaves were now legally free from slavery.  She with other African Americans helped provide information on what the other side was planning on. Once the war ended, “she settled in Auburn, New York, where she would spend the rest of her long life … [receiving] her income by running an eating-house in Beaufort. There, she sold Union soldiers root beer, pie and ginger bread, which she baked during the night, after her day's work. When she put in a claim for a Civil War pension, her role was described as "nurse, spy and cook"(PBS, Public Broadcasting Service). Harriet Tubman worked hard her entire life to earn her freedom, and once she received her freedom she realized how hard it was to maintain a living. Along with working during the day and baking during the night, she also had to take care of her parents who took up a lot of her time that she could have used to start her campaign for women’s rights. Therefore, Harriet Tubman helped the army by providing useful information to strike an attack, the soldiers by baking food for them to eat, and her parents survive a little longer by giving them her time and dedication.

Women's Right's SpeechLewis, Jone Johnson. “37 Women to Thank for Your Right to Vote.” ThoughtCo, www.thoughtco.com/womens-suffrage-biographies-3530536.          Harriet Tubman is a hero because she had passion for the Women’s Suffrage Movement. After risking her life later in life she believed in equality for all, not only women, which made her successful in her campaign: “In 1896 when she was already frail, she was invited as a guest speaker at the first meeting of the National Association of Colored Women. Tubman believed in the equality of all people, black or white, male or female, which made her sympathetic to the women’s rights movement. Tubman’s role was not that of a leader but that of a strong supporter. As a woman who had fought for her own freedom and the freedom of others”(“Harriet Tubman." Gale). Harriet Tubman had the courage to speak to hundreds of people一black, white, male, female一and to fight for equality. Even though her body was weak, her damaged mind still told her to stand up and fight for others, which she had done her entire life. Since she was weak, she needed help, so she joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony to carry on her legacy of freeing all people: “Tubman raised funds to aid freedmen, joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in their quest for women’s suffrage, cared for her aging parents, and worked with white writer Sarah Bradford on her autobiography as a potential source of income”("Harriet Tubman." Activists). She was weak, and her parents were weaker, so help from others made her campaign stronger. Her campaign was the most successful because of her collaboration with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Harriet Tubman’s passion for women’s rights made her feel stronger.

          A hero is someone who is brave, helpful, and passionate for what they believe in, and Tubman shows this in three ways. Tubman was brave freeing slaves in the Underground Railroad, helpful in the Civil War as a spy and cook, and passionate for the Women’s Suffrage Movement. She inspires me because she was brave enough to risk her freedom for 300 others and had the courage to fight for the rights of everyone. Despite all of the challenges, Harriet Tubman still passionately decided to show that everyone can be treated fairly.

"Nurse, Spy, Cook"“Harriet Tubman.” Women on 20s, www.womenon20s.org/harriet_tubman.Works Consulted

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