Who was Harriet Tubman?
Who was Harriet Tubman? Why is she recognized as an actual hero, especially during the times of slavery in America? Harriet Tubman was a woman who suffered through slavery. She was a victim of physical abuse by her owners and suffered heartbreak from part of her family being taken and sold off. Harriet had enough, and so she ran from her owners, a journey many miles to only find the Underground Railroad.
She then became a conductor for the railroad and saved more than 300 people from slavery and helped them achive freedom. She is a perfect example of bravery and confidence in trying to do what is right. She was never afraid to venture out again to save everyone and refused to let others go back into their previous owners, instead, she made them continue even threatening them to go on with the journey so that they could be free. This is how she is a hero to me, and to anyone else.
Harriets birthdate is unknown, but she was born into an enslaved family. Already suffering as a young child, she was abused often and had part of her family taken and sold off. The abuse she went through had affected her mentally and physically. She had suffered from many scars from the harm that came to her, and there was one incident where she suffered a head injury that would cause problems in her brain and affect her for the rest of her life. Though later on, she would make her grand escape. Her bravery and confidence in herself would change her life for the better. She would then change her name to Harriet Tubman and become a conductor for the Underground Railroad.
After Harriet Tubman made her escape she found the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a network made for slaves to be taken to aid and worked all the way to freedom. African Americans and Whites both helped the slaves make their escape and become free. These people were called conductors, and that was what Harriet eventually became. The goal of being a conductor was to make sure all the slaves that were escaping were brought back safely and taken to aid to eventually work to be freed. Harriet was known to be one of the best conductors and one of the conductors that were never caught.
Her confidence boosted as she believed that these slaves could be set free. She made around 19 trips from the south to the north and rescued more than 300 people. She encouraged people and even threatened those who escaped if they dared to go back to their plantations. News brought out of this remarkable woman and many slaves were beginning to have hope. People started to see her as someone who can really accomplish a lot. They took note of this and began to draw out plans for their own escape. Unfortunately, things got even tougher when people discovered the fugitive slave act.
This law for slaves would make them start to lose the hope they once had. The law would mean that any fugitive slave that is already out of their owners land will be hunted down by slave hunters. These slave hunters would search endless to find any slave and return them to their owners, and it would be horrible since punishments would be placed upon these slaves and no one can stop them because it was normal. This act damaged the slaves hopes for escaping, and many stayed with the owners dealing with more pain each day. Harriet did not lose hope, and a few people would still do anything to get out. Those who encountered Harriet Tubman would be lucky as she would bring them to safety. As the people today reflect on this they think of how terrifying yet so brave of Harriet to continue to help out in the Underground Railroad.
Harriet had come very far since her time in the plantation. Her reputation as a successful conductor earned her the nickname “Moses.” It really shows how people looked at her, they saw her as someone who had faith in bringing everyone to safety. The story of Moses tells of when a man who used to be the Pharaoh’s son in which he left his home and came back to free the people that were enslaved by the new Pharoah, or his own brother.
As the Civil War was progressing Harriet had been serving in the war. She went along with traveling from north to south and took note of any enemy plans. Harriet’s contribution had helped out tremendously as it benefitted the union in making careful battle plans. At the very end though, she only settled someplace in New York. Though the amount of work she put into wasn’t nearly close to getting as much money. She later died of pneumonia at the age of 93. Her bravery, confidence, and journeys to save others will never be forgotten by the people.
In conclusion, Harriet Tubman is a great role model as she demonstrated the goodness of being confident in one’s self and having the courage to help others out. She inspired many people because of what she did and her contributions had helped a lot during the Civil War. The courage that it took to go out and make so many trips to the south to go and rescue many slaves. She had done everything to get others out of slavery, get aid, and eventually become free.
She is also the perfect figure for a hero. I look up to her since she was not afraid of doing what is right. I believe that what she did was amazing and it is inspiring of the journey that she went through. A true hero to me will go all out just to help others and to make sure they are safe. They have suffered too which makes them already want to help those not suffer the same way. The people today look at Harriet Tubman and think of a hero. She and several others like her are looked up upon when talking about things like these. She is a symbol of freedom and bravery, and even debates of her being recognized are rising.
These people are like me, they believe she has done something marvelous. She is a hero to me, she is a hero to everyone. Without her I don’t think these people who escaped would ever get freedom. The Underground Railroad was also the big piece during that time as the group was meant to help fugitive slaves and help them become free. Harriet had said “Every great dream begins with a deamer.” and it speaks to anyone who thinks they have a dream that can one day make a difference. Harriet Tubman really defines a hero, they want to help out and make a difference. It’s the type of hero I look up to, and Harriet Tubman is one of them.
