Robyn Oliphant

History 1700
Dr. Hebertson
April 2, 2015
Midterm Paper

Harriet Tubman
Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman was born in 1822, but her official birthday is unknown . Her
official name when she was born was Araminta Ross . From the start of her life she was
born into slavery, her mother and father were brought over from Africa . She was initially
hired out as a slave at the young age of 5 to 6 years old . Before this she was in charge
of taking care of her younger siblings because her mom was constantly at work . Like
most slaves, Tubman was beaten throughout her time as a slave; on one account of her
beatings it left her with a life changing injury. She was out shopping with the little
money that she had received from the work she had done . She came across an item
she truly wanted, but didnt have enough money for it; she slipped it in her pocket and
started to leave the store. The store owner instead of stopping her, yelled and then
through an iron weight at her head; this experience left her with major headaches,
seizures and visions throughout the rest of her life . Not only having a weight thrown at
her head but because of continuous beatings just in everyday life her head was hit more
than once. With all of the continuous head trauma and then this extreme blow it

affected Tubman in many ways. Throughout her life she had a continuous headache
and it led to later illnesses in her later life that she had to deal with .
As Tubman grew older, she lost contact with her family like most slaves do while
moving from house to house. She met a free man by the name of John Tubman who
she married; their marriage wasnt fantastic because of the difference of status in
communities. John followed the laws of the land as closely as he could; when it came
to Harriet being freed he was against it. He told Harriet that he would tell local
authorities if she ran away. Instead of listening to what he said she secretly went on to
plan her escape from slavery. In those days they communicated a lot by song so that
their masters couldnt understand what they were talking about . The words sounded
plain and simple to the masters but to the slaves some meant Im escaping tonight, or
this house is a safe house. She escaped from slavery on September 17, 1849 after
being in it for 27 years.
Tubman and some of her brothers escaped on what was known as the
Underground Railroad, it was run by other runaway slaves and white abolitionists .
They helped multiple slaves escape through a series of routes and safe houses . Most
of the time the Underground Railroad was only conducted at night, and when it was
cloudy so that slaves wouldnt be seen. Once Tubman was safe and in freedom she felt
she needed to repay god for saving her so she became a conductor of the Underground
Railroad. She not only did this for good but she wanted to save the rest of her family as
well. She saved hundreds of slaves and brought them into freedom and walked

hundreds of miles for lives she barely knew. At the time of the Underground Railroad
laws were passed where a runaway or fugitive slave if they were caught must be
returned. With such laws it became more difficult for the Underground Railroad and
they had many more obstacles to face. They used whatever they could to their
advantage. Abolitionists of slavery, helped in any way they could especially with letting
slaves stay in their homes. The wives would make quilts to hang outside of their
houses. The different designs and symbols on these quilts gave signs and signals to
fellow slaves trying to escape. They explained if there was vacancy in their house at
the time, where the next safe house was located, how many miles until freedom and
many other things. With all of the different ways to communicate without being straight
forward it made it slightly easier for slaves to escape into freedom .
Tubman made at an estimate 13 trips on the Underground Railroad, as a
conductor not including the one that set her free . She saved a hundred plus slaves
from the unpleasant life that they were living . While on the railroad she used many
different techniques to help slaves get to freedom . Most were used on infants who
would make noises or cry that would bring attention to them . She knew trigger points
on the body to help them fall asleep, or more commonly she had a rag that was
drenched with opium that she would use to help them fall asleep . When traveling from
point to point on the Underground Railroad Tubman, always had to very important
things with her at all times. First her trust in God, she knew that no matter what he
would get her through anything in her life, and second she always had a pistol with her,

that was only used in the worst situations possible . With all of the many lives that she
helped save, she got the nickname of Moses of the Underground Railroad . She was
known across the nation and was a hero to many slaves for saving theirs and their
familys lives.
When Tubman went back for her husband to come join her, in the northern
states, she sent word to him. Instead of agreeing, she received word that he had
remarried and was happy with where he was, he no longer wanted to see Tubman and
stayed in the South with his new wife. Tubman was quite upset but decided to be the
bigger person and let him live his life the way he wanted to . She continued to lead as a
conductor of the Underground Railroad. Tubman says, "I was conductor of the
Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say I
never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger . She was very proud of
this accomplishment but knew that the only reason this took place was because of God .
She was very religious and lived her life by the sight of god .
During the time of the Civil War, she worked hard to continue to help free slaves;
she became a spy for the northern states and tried to help in as many ways possible .
One of her major roles during the Civil War was a Nurse for the North, so not only did
she save the lives of slaves but also saved many lives of valiant soldiers that fought .
She was the first women to lead an armed assault in the Civil War . As the war came to
an end so did her years of conducting the Underground Railroad . But, overall she
saved almost 750 lives with everything that she did.

As she continued to live she continued to fight for rights for those who were
under privileged, it seems like she wasnt going to stop until she was laid to rest . After
her remarkable run of being a conductor Tubman went back home to Auburn, where she
worked multiple jobs to try and support her family. She was continuously in debt for
things she didnt pay for, when she was on her travels . She supported her mother and
father for as long as she could along with her own family. She never received an
amount that was equal to a white man, but she worked beside the fact, even after
everything that she had done not only for African Americans but for those involved in the
Civil War. On one account, she was on a train and the conductor asked her to move to
the smoking car. Tubman refused and stayed seated where she was, the conductor
now upset had two men and himself physically remove her from the car . After telling
them what she had done for the country and the continuous refusal they pulled and
yanked and threw her into the smoke car. They broke her arm and left multiple other
injuries on her by doing this. Tubman never truly received the respect that she
deserved for what she did until long after she had passed away . After her first husband
remarried she lived single until 1869, one of the Civil War veterans that Tubman had
worked with (Nelson Davis) she took in and he lived with them . He started to work and
over time he and Tubman fell in love. They were married in 1869 and were happily
married for 20 years. Soon after their marriage in 1869 they adopted a little girl to add
to Tubmans already big family.

Not only struggling for the freedom of slaves Tubman worked hard for Womens
Suffrage, she attended many conventions and spoke out for womens rights . A lot of the
time she was the main speaker at these events and she talked about her work in the
Civil War and the Underground Railroad. She worked alongside of major womens
suffrage activists; including Susan B. Anthony and Emily Howland . Tubman is what we
would call today a Feminist; she only wanted equal rights for every living being that
walked the earth.
As life continued as she finally retired from the multiple jobs, she had to help
support her family she had support from her children who helped her . She became very
old and fragile but refused to stop living, noted by examples given . It became harder in
later years of her life; because of the head injury that took place early on in her life it
caused her much grief as she aged. Headaches and seizures were so bad that they
soon became unbearable for Tubman. She went to a doctor and asked him to operate
on her and make the buzzing in her brain to go away. Instead of being given any
anesthetic Tubman decided to have the procedure done similar to those in the Civil War
whose limbs were being amputated. She bit a bullet and hoped for luck, when the
procedure was finished she was quite happy with the results . The buzzing in her brain
had stopped and she felt like weight had been lifted off of it . In her own words, the
doctor sawed open my skull and everything seems to fit more comfortably.
Her body became so fragile and fair that she could no longer live on her own she
was admitted to what we now have as a retirement home . She lived there for the

remaining years of her life. She died in the year of 1913 on March 10 at the age of 91,
because of pneumonia, but was surrounded by many loved ones from her friends and
family.
With all of the many things that Harriet Tubman did in her life, she had many
multiple things that are named after her. From museums and memorials even to the
home that she was submitted to when she was very old and fragile . She helped save
many lives and makes the United States of America in multiple ways, womens suffrage,
and emancipation proclamation. She fought for what she believed in and is still looked
highly upon to this very day, what a remarkable example of hard work and dedication to
achieve the things that we want in life. What a fantastic legacy to leave behind by such
a remarkable women that gave up everything for what she believed in.