HARRIET TUBMAN: BIOGRAPHY - HISTORY - 2026

Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist who was born a slave and devoted much of her life to rescuing slaves in the United States. She worked with one of the most recognized anti-slavery movements of the time, which was known as the Underground Railroad.

The tunnels and connections of this group allowed him to rescue more than 70 slaves. She was a devout Christian who experienced countless visions throughout her life; she attributed these visions to God.

However, when she was little, a slaver threw a piece of metal that hit her on the head. This caused her to have recurring pain and dizziness throughout her life.

While he began his rescue missions to save his friends and family, he eventually managed to rescue dozens of slaves. She became an ideological symbol of the United States and is considered one of the most influential women of color in American history.

Biography

Harriet Tubman's date of birth is not known, but it is estimated that she was born in 1822. Her parents were slaves to a family that lived in Maryland, where Tubman was born. Her original name was Araminta Ross, which later changed to her mother's (Harriet) and adopted her husband's surname (John Tubman).

It is considered that one of the main reasons why Harriet Tubman chose to support the freedom of slaves in the United States was the opposition of her mother in selling her younger brother.

When Tubman was just a child, a man tried to buy his brother. However, his mother threatened him insisting that he would break the head of anyone who entered his house looking for his son. This event marked Tubman, which inclined her to fight for the freedom of slaves in America.

Belief and visions

The abolitionist was not a literate person; she never learned to read as a child. When she was little, her mother would recite the Bible to her, which made her find her faith in God.

He leaned towards the beliefs of the Old Testament, which indicated a more liberal vision and against the obedience of slaves. Her belief in God was very strong since she was a child and it remained that way for the rest of her life.

The visions and lucid dreams she had during her life were probably due to a blow she suffered when she was little.

Once when she was just a child, she came across another slave who had been absent from his owner's property without permission. When the owner found out, she threw a 10-pound weight at her, which hit Tubman by accident.

Following this incident, she began to faint for no apparent reason and to have strong visions, which she attributed to God and guided her rescue efforts later in life.

Wedding and escape

When Tubman married her husband John in 1844, she was still a slave. Her husband was a free man, but the situation remained complicated for a reason: the children of any couple where the woman was a slave were considered slaves as well.

However, shortly after the time of their marriage, the woman changed her name to Harriet, with which she honored her mother. It is believed that part of her husband's plan was to buy his freedom, but this never happened.

In 1849 he became ill again. This, combined with his continuing problems of pain and hallucinations from the blow, diminished his usefulness to his owner. He tried to sell it, but had a hard time finding a buyer quickly, and before I could sell it, Tubman's owner passed away.

While the widow was looking for a way to get rid of the slaves she owned, the abolitionist decided to escape along with her brothers. That happened that same year, in 1849.

Soon after, his brothers decided to return because one of them believed he had become a father. Tubman returned to them, but soon after escaped again. This time her decision was final: she escaped alone, leaving her entire family (including her husband) behind.

Decisive escape

It was on his second escape that he first used the well-known escape route called the Underground Railroad. This was led by a group of Quakers, religious, free slaves and whites in favor of the abolition of slavery.

His first stop after leaving the home of his former masters is believed to have been a small Quaker village nearby. They helped her hide and then she continued down the Choptank River, through the state of Delaware and then to Pennsylvania, where she finally gained her freedom.

Life as a pro-abolition rescuer

After arriving in Pennsylvania, Tubman no longer had slavery commitments. However, he felt an enormous loneliness: his family was left behind and he did not know anyone in those lands. She felt that her family should be free too, and after learning that one of her nieces was going to be sold, she returned to Maryland to rescue her.

Tubman joined the group that ran the Underground Railroad, with the primary mission of rescuing his family. He made several trips to Maryland, rescuing one or two members of his family on each trip. This filled all of her family and herself with hope, as she even rescued other slaves every time she traveled.

He rescued his three brothers along with their wives, as well as several of his children. She tried to bring her husband John with her, but he had already married another woman.

When Tubman asked him to come back to her, he refused. This infuriated her, but did not interfere with his relationship with his wife. She continued her life as a slave rescuer.

Methods

Throughout his life Tubman maintained a strong faith in God. When she was going to carry out a rescue mission, her visions caused by the blow she had as a child made her believe that she was talking to God, which increased her faith significantly.

She usually left religious signs to guide the slaves she helped escape. In addition, it used to act mainly in winter time, when there was less activity on the part of the slave hunters who sought to collect the rewards of those who escaped.

Tubman traveled more than 13 times, rescuing approximately 70 to 80 slaves. Added to this number are about 70 more, to whom he indicated with rather specific instructions how to head north and find their freedom.

It is said that the woman carried a revolver with her and she herself confirmed that fact. She used it to shoot the slave hunters who lurked on the Underground Railroad route, but she also used it to threaten the slaves who wanted to return after having escaped, because their indecision put the rescue of all at risk.

Life after your rescues

One of the last people Tubman rescued was a little girl of about 6 years old. This girl lived with a family of free former slaves, so at first her rescue was a bit illogical.

However, there are historical records that the girl had physical similarities to Tubman, and it is thought that she was probably his daughter.

Then, in 1860, he rescued his late sister's two children. With this mission, she ended her life as a rescuer, but she dedicated the rest of her days to fighting for the abolition of slavery in the United States. The American Civil War was a crucial event in her time as a pro-abolitionist fighter.

He criticized then-President Abraham Lincoln's decision not to decree the freedom of slaves in the south until the war was over. Meanwhile, he dedicated himself to curing the sick with smallpox and dysentery. During this time, Tubman did not contract any disease, so the rumor spread that she was blessed by God.

When Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Act, Tubman took up arms and joined the fight against the Confederates, who supported slavery.

Last days

The United States government and American civilians themselves did not officially recognize the important role that Tubman played during the Civil War for Union forces. In fact, he was not offered the right to a pension for years, until the government finally agreed in 1899.

As if that were not enough, she also had no money. She had spent most of it on caring for freed slaves and financing their rescue missions. However, she managed to survive after various difficulties until the government began to pay her pension.

Since the end of the Civil War she has lived in Auburn, where she fought for women to vote in elections after the official abolition of slavery. She even donated a parcel of land she owned to the Church to open a home for the elderly and destitute people of color.

He had to live his last days there, as he no longer had money. Having suffered from the blow she had as a child throughout her life, she died of pneumonia in 1913. She was buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery with military honors and her remains remain there to this day.

References

1. Harriet Tubman Biography, Harriet Tubman Historical Society Website, (nd). Taken from harriet-tubman.org
2. Harriet Tubman, PBS Online, (nd). Taken from pbs.org
3. Harriet Tubman, History Channel Online, (nd). Taken from history.com
4. Harriet Tubman, Wikipedia in English, March 24, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org
5. Harriet Tubman, The Editors of Encylopedia Britannica, March 13, 2018. Taken from britannica.org
6. Harriet Tubman Biography, (nd). Taken from biography.com