Harriet Tubman is one of the most well-known female abolitionist and activists. A former slave, she was a ‘conductor’ on the Underground Railroad, assisting in helping many slaves escape from their masters and even assisting the Union during the Civil War. Tubman’s legacy has and will be one recognized for centuries as the great abolitionist and activist she was.
Harriet Tubman was born in Maryland as a slave in 1820. In 1849, Tubman escaped with her two brothers from their plantation after the death of their owner. Unfortunately, after a reward was posted for their capture and return, her brothers decided to go back to the plantation. Tubman assisted in seeing her brothers back safely before she continued on to Philadelphia. She herself traveled along the Underground Railroad, traveling for ninety miles before she reached the free state of Pennsylvania. However, instead of remaining in the safe states of the North, she decided that her mission was to rescue her family and others, thus beginning her days as a ‘conductor’ on the Underground Railroad. In December 1850, she helped her niece, along with her niece’s husband and two young children, escape to freedom. Though this was her first trip, throughout her career working on the Underground Railroad, her leadership would earn her the nickname ‘Moses’. In all, Tubman managed to rescue and guide over 60 slaves to freedom, including her parents, several of her siblings, and many others. However, in 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed, which stated that slaves that had escaped to the North were able to be captured and sent back south to their owners. Tubman’s mission was not stalled by this law, and re-routed her path of the Underground Railroad to go to Canada, where slavery was prohibited (Harriet).
During the Civil War, Tubman remained active and assisted the Union. She worked as a cook and a nurse, and it wasn’t too long before she became an armed scout and a spy. Tubman was the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the Civil War, and she lead the Combahee River Raid. This raid freed more than seven hundred slaves in South Carolina.
Harriet was also an avid supporter of women’s sufferage. Many of Tubman’s supporters who assisted her during the Underground Railroad were involved in the women’s rights movement after the Civil War. Tubman was a supporter of equality between all people, no matter their color or gender, and the women’s rights movement gained her sympathy. She toured and gave speeches during the movement, telling stories of herself as a female slave and as the rescuer of hundreds of slaves. Her toured included New York, Boston, and Washington, favorably speaking for women’s suffrage.
One of Tubman’s legacies was her work to care for the elderly. She purchased seven acres of land and a horse in Auburn, New York. She brought her parents to this home and, after the Civil War, returned to start her career of caring for elderly African Americans. She bought twenty-five more acres in 1896 and the home became the Home for the Aged. Tubman struggled to care for those in the home, and gave the property to the AME Zion Church, and the church would own and run the home. As Tubman aged, her health deteriorated and she herself was cared for at the Home of the Aged before she died in 1913.
Harriet Tubman leaves a legacy that’s larger than life, and one that will be known for centuries. Her willingness to risk her own safety to free others, every trip being a danger to her own freedom, was a huge chance that others may not want to risk, looking out for themselves in favor of helping others. Her determination and support of women’s rights gave a loud voice to the cause. Already a famous woman, her support of the cause inspired many others. Her final act in life was to make the living conditions of elderly African Americans better, improving their quality of life. Harriet Tubman was a vocal activist of her time, from anti-slavery to women’s rights to the caring of others.