Harriet Tubman was a woman born into slavery, who saw the chance for her and other people to be freed from enslavement. She was entitled to the name Moses because of her bravery to help people and herself to Liberation. One common misconception that people had about her was that she founded the Underground Railroad. She did indeed guide people on that passage, but it was not a literal railroad and she did not construct it. Contrary to legend, Tubman did not create the Underground Railroad; it was established in the late eighteenth century by black and white abolitionists.
Early Life
Born into slavery,Tubman’s year of birth is unclear to historians, but some speculate that she was born between 1820 to 1822 in Dorchester County, Maryland. Though known as Harriet, she was given the name Armanita “Minty” Ross by her parents, but later changed it to Harriet Tubman after she escaped from slavery. According to many sources, Tubman was a deeply devoted Christian, and she felt responsible to free her fellow African Americans from enslavement for years.
Her time as the conductor of the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman is the most well known conductor of the Underground Railroad. In ten years she freed 300 slaves from enslavement; William Lloyd Garrison, an abolitionist, believed that Tubman deserved the moniker “Moses.” Tubman worked hard to free even more enslaved people. Because of her brave actions, she gained a reputation and many people who supported the Underground Railroad funded and provided her and the runaway slaves with shelter.
Tubman's time before and after the Civil War
Throughout the Civil War, Tubman was a spy, a nurse, a cook, and a laundry lady for the Union army. Because Harriet freed so many slaves from enslavement, she knew the land well which is an advantage for a spy. This led to the raid of rebel territory by Union soldiers because of Harriet’s knowledge. After the Civil War, Tubman went back to her home in Auburn, New York where she was informed of the death of her first husband and later, both of her parents. She later married again to Nelson Davis, who then died in 1888. Though Tubman was poor, she was very hospitable to any runaway slaves who came to her for help.
Tubman's Philanthrophy and death
Tubman was concerned with the old who lived here in America without any help to support them. She bought 25 acres of land near her own property to house elderly African American people. She received funding from the AME Zion Church, and later in 1903 decided to donate the property to them. The Board of Lady Managers also helped fund the home for the elderly, and in a few years, Tubman’s dream became a reality. Tubman was hospitalized in 1911 and decided to move into the home for the elderly in where she later died on March 10, 1913.
