Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, c. March 1822 – March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and political activist.
Harriet’s desire for justice became apparent at age 12 when she spotted an overseer about to throw a heavy weight at a fugitive slave. Harriet stepped between the slave and the overseer—the weight struck her head.
The injury caused dizziness, pain, and spells of hypersomnia, which occurred throughout her life. After her injury, Tubman began experiencing strange visions and vivid dreams, which she ascribed to premonitions from God.
In 1874, Representatives Clinton D. MacDougall of New York and Gerry W. Hazelton of Wisconsin introduced a bill (H.R. 2711/3786) providing that Tubman be paid "the sum of $2,000 for services rendered by her to the Union Army as scout, nurse, and spy". The bill was defeated in the Senate.
When the movie opens, Minty and her husband have hired a lawyer to investigate an old will left behind by the great-grandfather of her owner, Edward Brodess, that stipulated that upon the day that Minty's mother turned 45, she and her children would be set free.
She was a strong supporter of women's voting rights, giving speeches on women's suffrage in New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. Tubman shared her experiences of suffering in the war and railroad movement, in order to prove that women are equal to men.
Although slaves were not legally allowed to marry, Tubman entered a marital union with John Tubman, a free black man, in 1844. She took his name and dubbed herself Harriet.
What would be the age of Harriet Tubman if alive? Harriet Tubman's exact age would be 202 years 4 months 19 days old if alive. Total 73,919 days. Harriet Tubman was a social life and political activist known for her difficult life and plenty of work directed on promoting the ideas of slavery abolishment.
Harriet Tubman led many people to freedom and motivated many other to do the same. Her bravery and helping other people escape slavery inspires people today. When she escaped slavery she could have lived a life without slavery but she chose to go back and lead other slaves to freedom.
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.
Harriet TubmanKnown forFreeing enslaved peopleSpouse(s)John Tubman ​ ​ ( m. 1844; div. 1851)​ Nelson Davis ​ ​ ( m. 1869; died 1888)​ChildrenGertie (adopted)Parent(s)Harriet Greene Ross Ben Ross6 more rows
After the Civil War ended, Tubman was also remarried, to a war veteran named Nelson Davis who was 22 years her junior. The couple later adopted a daughter, Gertie, but it is Tubman's relationship to her another girl that has puzzled historians for more than a century.
Cornered by armed slave catchers on a bridge over a raging river, Harriet Tubman knew she had two choices – give herself up, or choose freedom and risk her life by jumping into the rapids. “I'm going to be free or die!” she shouted as she leapt over the side.
March 10, 1913Harriet Tubman / Date of death
Celebrating her life, honoring her legacy, marking the 200th anniversary of Harriet Tubman's birth.
1865The House Joint Resolution proposing the 13th amendment to the Constitution, January 31, 1865; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789-1999; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives.
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in the South to become a leading abolitionist before the American Civil War. She led hundreds of enslaved peopl...
Harriet Tubman is credited with conducting upward of 300 enslaved people along the Underground Railroad from the American South to Canada. She show...
In addition to leading more than 300 enslaved people to freedom, Harriet Tubman helped ensure the final defeat of slavery in the United States by a...
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in the South to become a leading abolitionist before the American Civil War. She led hundreds of enslaved peopl...
Harriet Tubman is credited with conducting upward of 300 enslaved people along the Underground Railroad from the American South to Canada. She show...
In addition to leading more than 300 enslaved people to freedom, Harriet Tubman helped ensure the final defeat of slavery in the United States by a...
Tubman was born Araminta "Minty" Ross to enslaved parents, Harriet ("Rit") Green and Ben Ross. Rit was owned by Mary Pattison Brodess (and later her son Edward). Ben was held by Anthony Thompson, who became Mary Brodess's second husband, and who ran a large plantation near the Blackwater River in the Madison area of Dorchester County, Maryland.
Tubman's mother was assigned to "the big house" and had scarce time for her own family; consequently, as a child Tubman took care of a younger brother and baby, as was typical in large families. When she was five or six years old, Brodess hired her out as a nursemaid to a woman named "Miss Susan". Tubman was ordered to care for the baby and rock the cradle as it slept; when the baby woke up and cried, she was whipped. She later recounted a particular day when s…
Anthony Thompson promised to manumit Tubman's father at the age of 45. After Thompson died, his son followed through with that promise in 1840. Tubman's father continued working as a timber estimator and foreman for the Thompson family. Several years later, Tubman contacted a white attorney and paid him five dollars to investigate her mother's legal status. The lawyer discovered that a former owner had issued instructions that Tubman's mother, Rit, like her husb…
In early 1859, abolitionist Republican U.S. Senator William H. Seward sold Tubman a small piece of land on the outskirts of Auburn, New York, for US$1,200 (equivalent to $36,190 in 2021). The city was a hotbed of antislavery activism, and Tubman seized the opportunity to deliver her parents from the harsh Canadian winters. Returning to the U.S. meant that escaped slaves were at risk of being returned to the South under the Fugitive Slave Law, and Tubman's siblings expressed rese…