10 questions · Society & Everyday
Harriet Tubman is born around 1822 into slavery in the southern United States, in the state of Maryland. From childhood she is forced to work hard; once a heavy metal weight strikes her on the head, and its effects stay with her all her life. But within her grows an irrepressible will to be free. In 1849 she escapes to the free North: alone, on foot, over hundreds of kilometres. But Tubman has no intention of enjoying her freedom alone. Again and again she returns, at mortal risk, to the slaveholding South to free others. She becomes the most famous "conductor" on the "Underground Railroad": a secret network of helpers, safe houses and escape routes. She returns around thirteen times and leads roughly seventy people to freedom, never losing a single one. She is called "Moses", after the biblical liberator. When the American Civil War breaks out, Tubman puts her extraordinary knowledge of the South at the service of the Union. She works as a nurse, scout and spy and even leads an armed military operation in which hundreds of enslaved people are freed. This makes her one of the first women to command such an operation in war. After the war Harriet Tubman campaigns for women's suffrage and for needy former slaves. She dies at a great age in 1913 and becomes one of the greatest heroines of American history: a woman who escaped slavery and risked her life so that others could be free.
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escaped from slavery
She made the escape alone, on foot, over hundreds of kilometres.
💡 Did you know? Tubman fled alone some 150 km on foot from Maryland to the free North: guided only by the North Star.
Underground Railroad
A secret network of helpers, safe houses and escape routes.
💡 Did you know? The „Underground Railroad“ was not a train but a secret network of safe houses and helpers for escaping slaves.
returned to free others
Rather than stay safe, Tubman returned to the dangerous South some 13 times and led about 70 people to freedom.
💡 Did you know? She returned around thirteen times and led roughly seventy people to freedom.
Moses
She never lost a single person on her rescue missions.
💡 Did you know? Because she led her people out of bondage like the biblical Moses, she was called „Moses“ and never lost a single „passenger.“
scout / spy for the Union
In the Civil War Tubman served the Union army as nurse, cook and spy behind enemy lines.
💡 Did you know? She even led an armed military operation in which hundreds of enslaved people were freed.
first woman to lead an armed war operation
In the raid on the Combahee River, hundreds of enslaved people were freed.
💡 Did you know? In 1863 Tubman led the Combahee Ferry raid: the first woman to lead an armed US military action, freeing over 700 slaves.
women's suffrage and aid for ex-slaves
She died at a great age in 1913.
💡 Did you know? After the war Tubman campaigned for women's suffrage and founded a home for poor and elderly African Americans.
USA
She was born into slavery around 1822.
💡 Did you know? Since a childhood blow to the head, Tubman suffered sudden seizures: which she interpreted as divine visions.
Foto: Photographer: Horatio Seymour Squyer, 1848 - 18 Dec 1905 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman (c. 1822 to 1913) was an escaped American slave who led countless others to freedom via the „Underground Railroad.“
💡 Did you know? In the US, Tubman is set to become the first Black woman featured on the 20-dollar bill.
1822
Born: c. 1822 in Maryland
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