Harriet Tubman- the most respected personalitie of the 19th century - Essay Example

Harriet Tubman the most respected personalities of the 19th century Harriet Tubman was among the most respected personalities of the 19th century because of her many activities that helped many people around Maryland. She was a humble woman who was born into slavery on the shores of Maryland. She worked as an underground rail operator, a nurse, a civil war spy, an abolitionist and a humanitarian. Her operations will be remembered by those who were affected by the 19th century slave trade. She dedicated herself to serving humanity form an early age until she passed on thus making a name for herself among the Nation’s most famous historical figures (Sernett 20-50) Harriet Tubman originally named Araminta was born in early 1822 in Dorchester County, Maryland. She was born to a slave mother Harriet Green and father Benjamin Ross on a plantation in the south of Madison owned by Anthony Thompson. Her father was then a timber inspector in charge of supervising and managing a vast timbering operation in Thompsons land. They were forcefully moved from their residence on Thompson farm to a small village in Buck town by their master Edward Brodess (Janet Benge 34-56). Their family was torn apart when Brodess began hiring Tubman and members of her family to temporary masters who mistreated them as they were often cruel and negligent. Her family was completely fractured when her master began illegally selling out members of her family to buyers. Growing up in this kind of environment made her hate his master’s activities especially after most of her family members were already gone and she had no family (Janet Benge 34-56). Having undergone so much torture as a teen working as a field hand she swore not to let more people suffer in the hands of the slave masters. She continued working for John T. Stewart who was a merchant and ship builder. This brought her new her hometown near the place her father lived. She married a local free black around 1844 named John Tubman. After the marriage she shed off her childhood name Araminta to take Harriet (Clinton 50-96). Harriet Tubman began working as an underground rail operator around 1850; this was immediately after the death of Edward Brodess in 1849. The death of Brodess left Tubman and the remaining members of her family at risk of being sold so as to settle some of her master’s debts. She ran away to freedom and found her way through the Underground Railroad to Philadelphia. In Philadelphia she began working as a domestic help in saving some of the money she was being paid with the aim of saving her family members from slavery. The Underground Railroad was not a real rail road but a way for slaves to escape to freedom in the north. She was an operator or a conductor (Bradfrod ). These are the people who helped the slaves run away to freedom. These conductors showed the slaves where to hide so that the slave hunters could not get them. They also got them food to eat and clothing before they got an alternative source of income. Tubman initial aim was to get her family to liberty after she had freed herself to Philadelphia. She worked hard to save money for the intended trip home. Immediately the money was enough she left her job to free her sister. This is where her work began that later gave her the recognition that she has had until today. Tubman felt bad about the suffering experienced by her family, friends and relatives in the hands of their masters. In the process of freeing her sister she decided to include others on the first trip (Sernett 20-50). She managed to save her family including her father, mother, brothers and sisters, cousins and nephews. It is estimated that she made between eleven to thirteen trips saving and protecting many slaves from masters and slave hunters. The many trips to free slaves made her famous for her work at the same time risking her life. At one moment the slave hunters grew tired of her activities and in decided to offer an award worth $ 40000 to anyone who would bring them Tubman. This did not deter her in her endeavor to save more slaves. In line with this she became admired by many black and white people who were against slave trade and this is how she came to an abolitionist. The people in the North at that time in Ontario and St. Catherine’s who supported her activities contributed funds to aid her in her dangerous missions (Janet Benge 34-56). She joined the Northern abolitionists group and provided her badly needed support of the union activities in South Carolina. She later began working as nurse during the civil war by taking care of the black soldiers and hundreds of other liberated slaves in the Union camps. In the camps she learned a lot of things that improved her military skills and these included spying and scouting behind rival lines. One of her most outstanding acts as a military woman was in 1863 when she commanded an armed military raid and guided col. James Montgomery with his troop of the black regiment up the Combahee River, defeating the rival groups, destroying cotton plantations and weapons and bringing to liberty of approximately seven hundred slaves (Clinton 50-96). Later after the war Tubman returned to New York and began another career as a community activist and a humanitarian. She participated in many activities that sought to advocate for equal rights of individuals. She fought for justice and even joined suffrage movements. As a show of her dedication to humanitarian services she opened the Harriet Home for the Aged on her own property in Auburn. She later transferred this to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church a few years before her death. Harriet Tubman made a huge contribution to society in so many ways. It is evident from the activities mentioned above that she actually made a huge contribution to society. First of all is the issue of slave trade. Tubman sacrificed a lot to make sure that first her family was liberated from the chains of slavery. She extended this to other slaves who were not part of her family. This was demonstrated clearly when she led a group of soldiers and managed to free seven hundred slaves from slavery. It was also evident from the many missions she conducted as an Underground Railroad operator. She contributed greatly to the fight to end slavery and slave trade in the 19th century and this is very significant (Janet Benge 34-56). The second contribution that she made to society was her work as a humanitarian worker, working as a nurse to help the injured soldiers in the military camps. She also demonstrated this by helping the slaves get food clothing and shelter as they run away from their masters to freedom. The culmination of her work as a humanitarian worker is when she finally decides to build a home for the aged in Auburn. She then transfers her land to a church to help in the running of the aged care home. This is an act of selflessness that makes her be remembered to date (Janet Benge 34-56). Another contribution she makes to society is when she becomes a community activist, advocating for the rights of individuals including fair treatment and justice. She helps free the society from much oppression that people undergo. This coupled with her involvement in suffrage movements prove to us that she was indeed out to help mankind live in a better society (Sernett 20-50). She was also a freedom fighter working to ensure that people are free to live the life that they deserve. Having been born in slavery, she hated the torture and mistreatment that she received from her masters. She hated to see people in bondage and therefore decides to team up with other people such as the legendary freedom fighter John Brown in freeing slaves and other people from slavery, bad leadership and oppression (Sernett 20-50). Until her death she made a lot of efforts in ensuring that people live in a free and just society. She also endeavored to make sure that people are safe and live in a society where they can express themselves without fear of indictment (Clinton, 50-96). Works Cited Bradfrod, Sarah H. "Some Scenes In the life of Harriet Tubman." 1 Decemeber 1868. Dorchester Library. 27 Septemeber 2011 . Clinton, Catherine. Harriet Tubman:the road to freedom. New York: Little, Brown and company, 2004, pp 50-96. Janet Benge, Geoff Benge. Harriet Tubman:freedombound. Lynnwood, Washington: YWAM publishing, 2002, pp 34-56. Sernett, Milton C. Harriet Tubman: myth, memory and history. Durham, N C: Duke University Press, 2007, pp 20-50. Read More