Harriet Tubman Research Paper

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Haley Hill Mrs. Panter 10/16/2014 Computer Apps I 8th Period Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman was an African-American abolitionist and Union spy during the American Civil War. Harriet is known as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad during the 1850’s. She was born a slave in Maryland’s eastern shore. In 1850 she fled slavery, leaving her family behind. I chose Harriet Tubman because she is courageous for going back to help other slaves become free after she had escaped from slavery herself. In Harriet’s early life she was born to enslaved parents in Dorchester County, Maryland. Tubman’s original name was Araminta Harriet Ross. Harriet was one of nine children born to Harriet “Rit” Green and Ben Ross. Harriet’s birth is unknown, although it…show more content…
Harriet made use of the network known as the Underground Railroad to travel for nearly 90 miles to Philadelphia. When she reached Philadelphia, she felt a sense of relief and awe, she later recalled: “When I found I had crossed the line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.” Instead of remaining in the North, Harriet was determined to rescue her family and others living as slaves. Harriet’s first mission was helping her niece, two children, and husband get to Philadelphia. That is how she got her nickname “Moses” because of her leadership. Eventually, she was able to guide her parents, several siblings, and around 60 others to freedom. Her husband decided to stay in Maryland with his new wife. In 1850, with the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, the dynamics of escaping slavery changed. The law said that escaped slaves could be captured in the North and returned to slavery. This led to abduction of former slaves and of free blacks living in Free States. Law officials were compelled to aid in the capture of…show more content…
In December 1851, Harriet guided 11 fugitives northward. Harriet worked for the Union Army as a cook and nurse, than she became a scout and spy. She was the first women to lead an armed expedition in the war; she guided the Combahee River Raid, which liberated more than 700 slaves in South Carolina. Harriet made 19 trips to Maryland and helped 300 people to freedom. She was never captured and never failed to deliver her “passengers” to safety. She said; “On my Underground Railroad I [never] run my train off [the] track [and] I never [lost] a passenger.” Harriet Tubman is historically significant because she saved many people from slavery. She was known around the world and was very well-respected. In the years after she died, she became an American icon and was named one of the most famous civilians in America history before the Civil War. Lots of schools were named after her in her honor, and the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cambridge and the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn serve as monuments to her life. Harriet Tubman affected me personally because she was a great role-model and a hero. Harriet saved numerous people, yet she was never captured herself. She made 19 trips to Maryland and helped rescue 300 people to freedom even though she was putting herself at risk of being captured and returned to slavery. One point in time the rewards for her capture totaled

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