Harriet Tubman, Journey of an Escaped Slave

Harriet TubmanHarriet_Tubman_by_Squyer,_NPG,_c1885An escaped slave risked her life by constantly journeying back to the South to help other slaves escape. If caught then she could have been returned into slavery or face brutal punishments. Yet Harriet Tubman continued to help slaves escape knowing the risks and dangers of the journey. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery and experienced all the hardships of slavery. She only got the chance to escape from slavery at the age 29. Once Tubman escaped, she vowed to return back to the South in order to help other slaves escape; and she continued to live up to her vow ("Harriet Tubman." Gale). To do so, Tubman attributed the heroic trait of bravery, as shown when she journeyed back to the South as an escaped slave, and she acted selfless when she made it her mission to help others escape rather than living a peaceful life as an escaped slave. Harriet Tubman possess bravery and selflessness, therefore she was a hero.

To begin with, Harriet Tubman attains the heroic trait of being selfless. At the age of 15, Harriet Tubman already showed selflessness by stepping in the way of her owner chasing a runaway slave. While her boss was distracted with chasing this slave, Tubman could have easily escaped herself without notice. Or, Tubman could have helped to catch the slave and be rewarded by her master. Instead, Tubman decided to help the slave rather than herself to give the slave a better chance of escaping. Doing this could have lead to harsh punishments as it did when her master threw a two pound weight at her head. Knowing these consequences, Tubman still decided to sacrifice herself in order to provide the runaway slave with a few extra seconds in possibly attaining freedom. Furthermore, Tubman was only fifteen when she performed this act of selflessness. The fact that Tubman was only a fifteen year old still going through adolescence really emphasizes how selfless she was. In addition, Tubman demonstrated selflessness as she made it her mission to return back to the South to help slaves escape, “However, she determined that she would make her mission helping other slaves escape. She befriended black abolitionist William Still (1821–1902) in Pennsylvania”(4 "Harriet Tubman." Gale ). Here, we see how Tubman took helping slaves escape into her own hands. She decided that she would journey back to the South and work with the underground railroad in order to help slaves escape. Doing this proved she was selfless because she previously worked as a slave herself and she was lucky enough to escape and live the life as a free woman. However, she refused to enjoy this opportunity herself so she went back to the South to help other slaves escape. This demonstrates how selfless she was because she previously experienced the cruel life of slavery, yet she vowed to return back to the south to help other slaves. Thus, Harriet Tubman attributes the trait of selflessness as shown with her selfless actions of sacrificing herself for another slave and vowing to return back to the South to free other slaves after she was freed.  

Harriet Tubman Portraitmissedinhistory-podcasts-wp-content-uploads-sites-99-2016-06-Harriet-Tubman-1-P-FullAlso, Harriet Tubman attains the heroic trait of bravery. After achieving her long desired dream of freedom, Tubman decided her dream was not worth living if only she was living it with a few other people. She desired for no one to experience the hardships and struggles of slavery. A new dream of hers arose which was for all slaves to be freed. However, this dream could not have been easily attained, so Tubman took matters into her own hands, “Tubman risked her life to lead hundreds of family members and other slaves from the plantation system to freedom on this elaborate secret network of safe houses”(1www.biography.com/people/harriet-tubman). Here, we see Tubman's brave act of returning to the South to help other slaves escape slavery. This proves how brave Tubman was since she would return back to the South as an African American to help slaves escape. Since slaves were considered property to slave owners, Tubman was technically making trips to steal from the slave owners which was a really bold thing to do due to how serious of a crime stealing is considered. Furthermore, Tubman would take hundreds of slaves with her for each trip she made. This made things especially dangerous for her because with all the extra people she took, the easier it was to find her. Thus, Tubman possesses the heroic trait of bravery as shown with her actions of returning to the South multiple times to take hundreds of slaves back with her to the North. To continue, once slavery was officially abolished in the United States, Tubman continued to act in brave ways such as speaking up for women's rights, “When the war ended, Tubman move to Auburn, New York, where she helped with women’s suffrage efforts”(9 "Harriet Tubman." Gale ). Here, we see how Tubman continued to fight for what she believed was right after achieving her previous goal of abolishing slavery. Her new goal now was to help all women obtain equal rights as men. Tubman's bravery is shown here because she stood up for many who felt that women were treated unequally. She voiced their opinion and allowed herself to be hated on for anyone who opposed them. Speaking out for what you believe in can be very difficult as there will be people who oppose you. However, Tubman brushed aside the fear of being opposed by others and willingly spoke out for all women who wanted to be treated justly. Thus, Tubman attributes the heroic trait of bravery as shown with her willingness to openly speak her opinion. From Tubman's actions of daringly making trips to the South the help slaves escape, to speaking out for what she believed was right proves that Tubman was brave.

Harriet Tubman ActionsHarriet-Tubman-civil-war-300x200To conclude, Harriet Tubman was a hero because she possessed the traits of selflessness and bravery. Tubman proved to be selfless as at a young age she stood in the way of her owner chasing down a slave. Also, she proved to be brave as she continually returned back to the South in order to help other slaves escape. Overall, as seen throughout all of Tubman's life, she performed many heroic actions thus making her a hero. Harriet Tubman inspires many today with with her determination to do what was right. Tubman would do everything in how power to do what she and many others knew was right which included physically marching down to the South to help slaves escape and speaking up for women's rights. Also, her actions of stepping in the way of her owner chasing down a slave, risking her life to help others, and acting as a nurse during the Civil War inspired us that we should live to serve others before ourselves. Overall, Harriet Tubman proved to be a hero as she possessed the attributes of bravery and selflessness.

Works Consulted

"Harriet Tubman." Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 9, Gale, 1995. Biography in Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1606000476/BIC1?u=powa9245&xid=f3c19acd. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.

"Harriet Tubman." Gale Student Resources in Context, Gale, 2017. Student Resources in Context,

web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=f8f8c434-0aad-4e14-b714-d16be9bbf20c%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=18013986&db=khh.

www.biography.com/people/harriet-tubman-9511430.