Harriet Tubman is perhaps the most well-known of all the Underground Railroad’s “conductors.” During a ten-year span she made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom. And, as she once proudly pointed out to Frederick Douglass, in all of her journeys she “never lost a single passenger.”
How many slaves did the Underground Railroad help?
According to some estimates, between 1810 and 1850, the Underground Railroad helped to guide one hundred thousand enslaved people to freedom. As the network grew, the railroad metaphor stuck. “Conductors” guided runaway enslaved people from place to place along the routes.
How many slaves was Harriet Tubman responsible for freeing?
Historians now believe that it’s likely that she was personally responsible for ushering around 70 people to freedom along the Underground Railroad in the decade before the Civil War.
What are 5 facts about Harriet Tubman?
8 amazing facts about Harriet Tubman
- Tubman’s codename was “Moses,” and she was illiterate her entire life.
- She suffered from narcolepsy.
- Her work as “Moses” was serious business.
- She never lost a slave.
- Tubman was a Union scout during the Civil War.
- She cured dysentery.
- She was the first woman to lead a combat assault.
How many slaves were freed after the Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad and freed slaves [ estimated 100,000 escaped ]
Did Harriet Tubman create the Underground Railroad?
Contrary to legend, Tubman did not create the Underground Railroad; it was established in the late eighteenth century by black and white abolitionists. Tubman likely benefitted from this network of escape routes and safe houses in 1849, when she and two brothers escaped north.
How many slaves did Jefferson own?
Despite working tirelessly to establish a new nation founded upon principles of freedom and egalitarianism, Jefferson owned over 600 enslaved people during his lifetime, the most of any U.S. president.
Is Gertie Davis died?
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in the South to become a leading abolitionist before the American Civil War. She led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom in the North along the route of the Underground Railroad.
Who helped slaves escape on the Underground Railroad?
Harriet Tubman, perhaps the most well-known conductor of the Underground Railroad, helped hundreds of runaway slaves escape to freedom.
Why did Harriet Tubman have seizures?
Harriet Tubman began having seizures after a traumatic brain injury when she was around 12 years old. The brain damage meant she experienced headaches and pain throughout her life as well as seizures and possibly narcolepsy (falling asleep uncontrollably).
How old would Harriet Tubman be today?
Harriet Tubman’s exact age would be 201 years 10 months 28 days old if alive. Total 73,747 days. Harriet Tubman was a social life and political activist known for her difficult life and plenty of work directed on promoting the ideas of slavery abolishment.
What made slavery illegal in all of the United States?
Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and provides that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or
What state ended slavery first?
In 1780, Pennsylvania became the first state to abolish slavery when it adopted a statute that provided for the freedom of every slave born after its enactment (once that individual reached the age of majority). Massachusetts was the first to abolish slavery outright, doing so by judicial decree in 1783.
How many conductors were in the Underground Railroad?
These eight abolitionists helped enslaved people escape to freedom.
Fact check: Harriet Tubman helped free slaves for the Underground Railroad, but not 300
A statement made by musician Kanye West about renowned abolitionist and political activist Harriet Tubman has caused widespread discussion on social media about the historical figure. In his first political campaign event, held at the Exquis Event Center in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, West, who declared his presidential run on July 4 through Twitter, received a standing ovation. In his lengthy address, West touched on a wide range of themes ranging from abortion to religion to international commerce and licensing deals, but he inexplicably deviated from the topic by going on a diatribe about Tubman.
She just sent the slaves to work for other white people, and that was that “Westsaid, et al.
One post portrays a meme that glorifies Tubman’s anti-slavery achievements and implies that the former slave was the subject of a substantial bounty on her head, according to the post.
A $40,000 ($1.2 million in 2020) reward was placed on her head at one point.
The Instagram user who posted the meme has not yet responded to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Tubman freed slaves just not that many
Dorchester County, Maryland, was the setting for the birth of Harriet Tubman, whose given name was Raminta “Minty” Ross, who was born in the early 1820s. She was raised as a house slave from an early age, and at the age of thirteen, she began working in the field collecting flax. Tubman sustained a traumatic brain injury early in his life when an overseer hurled a large weight at him, intending to hit another slave, but instead injuring Tubman. She did not receive adequate medical treatment, and she would go on to have “sleeping fits,” which were most likely seizures, for the rest of her life.
Existing documents, as well as Tubman’s own remarks, indicate that she would travel to Maryland roughly 13 times, rather than the 19 times claimed by the meme.
This was before her very final trip, which took place in December 1860 and saw her transporting seven individuals.” Abolitionist Harriet Tubman was a contemporary of Sarah Hopkins Bradford, a writer and historian who is well known for her herbiographies of the abolitionist.
“Bradford never said that Tubman provided her with such figures, but rather that Bradford calculated the inflated figure that Tubman provided.
In agreement with this was Kate Clifford Larson, author of “Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero.” As she wrote in a 2016 opinion article for the Washington Post, “My investigation has validated that estimate, showing that she took away around 70 individuals in approximately 13 trips and supplied instructions to another approximately 70 people who found their way to freedom on their own.” Checking the facts: Nancy Green, the Aunt Jemima model, did not invent the brand.
A bounty too steep
The sole recorded bounty for Tubman was an advertisement placed on Oct. 3, 1849, by Tubman’s childhood mistress, Eliza Brodess, in which she offered a reward for Tubman’s capture. The $100 reward (equivalent to little more than $3,300 today) did not go primarily to Tubman; it also went to her brothers “Ben” and “Harry.” As explained by the National Park Service, “the $40,000 reward number was concocted by Sallie Holley, a former anti-slavery activist in New York who penned a letter to a newspaper in 1867 pleading for support for Tubman in her quest of back pay and pension from the Union Army.” Most historians think that an extravagant reward was unlikely to be offered.
Tubman did, in fact, carry a revolver during her rescue missions, which is one grain of truth in the story.
The photograph used in the meme is an authentic photograph of Tubman taken in her final years.
Our ruling: Partly false
We assess the claim that Harriet Tubman conducted 19 journeys for the Underground Railroad during which she freed over 300 slaves as PARTLY FALSE because some of it is not supported by our research. She also claimed to have a $40,000 bounty on her head and to have carried a weapon throughout her excursions. While it is true that Tubman did free slaves – an estimated 70 throughout her 13 voyages — and that she carried a tiny handgun for her personal security and to deter anybody from coming back, historians and scholars say that the other historical claims contained in the meme are exaggerations.
Our fact-check sources:
- The Washington Post published an article titled “5 Myths About Harriet Tubman” in which Kanye West claims that Tubman never “freed the slaves,” and the Los Angeles Times published an article titled “Rapper Kanye West criticizes Harriet Tubman at a South Carolina rally.” Other articles include Smithsonian Magazine’s “The True Story Behind the Harriet Tubman Movie”
- Journal of Neurosurgery’s “Head Injury in Heroes of the Civil
- Thank you for your interest in and support of our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app, or electronic version of the newspaper by visiting this link. Our fact-checking efforts are made possible in part by a grant from Facebook.
Frequently Asked Questions – Harriet Tubman National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)
When did the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park come into existence? As part of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress authorized the establishment of Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, New York, in December 2014. A Decision Memorandum creating Harriet Tubman National Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System was signed by Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell on January 10, 2017. What regions are covered in the park’s scope of operations? This 32-acre park is bordered on the west by South Street, which is where the tourist center, Harriet Tubman Residence, and the Tubman Home for the Aged can be found, and on the east by South Street.
- The Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church is scheduled to be demolished.
- Thompson A.M.E.
- Both buildings are now uninhabitable and will require extensive repairs and restorations before they can be used for public purposes again in the near future.
- Currently, we are doing a Historic Structures and Finishes Study of the church building as well as limited emergency stabilization of the structure in order to guide proper repairs and eventual restoration of this iconic structure.
- No, the National Park Service relies on a third-party partner to manage three of its properties.
- The Harriet Tubman Home, Inc.
- The Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church’s grounds are managed by the National Park Service, which will stabilize and renovate the structure in the future years as part of its ongoing restoration efforts.
- Is public transit available to get you to Harriet Tubman National Historical Park?
- Auburn is home to the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority, which is based there.
- www.centro.org/about-Centro/service-area Is there any other historical landmark in Auburn, New York that is associated with Harriet Tubman?
- In addition to being a National Historic Landmark, the Seward House Museum is also a component of the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, and Frances and William Seward played an important role in Tubman’s life.
Dining and hotel options are available in the vicinity of the park, is this true? Tourist information may be found through the New York State Tourism Office () and the Cayuga County Visitor Information Center (), as well as other sources.
Harriet Tubman
Is it possible that Harriet Tubman’s entire family came to live with her in Auburn? Unfortunately, not all of Tubman’s relatives relocated to Auburn since they were sold and no longer belonged to the family, but a few of them did relocate to New York City. In Auburn, Harriet “Rit” Green and Ben Ross, Tubman’s paternal grandparents, resided. Among those who resided there were her brothers Robert (now known as John Stewart), Ben (now known as James Stewart), his wife Catherine, and their three children; Henry (now known as William Henry Stewart), his wife Harriet Ann, and their children.
- The Ross family had been torn apart by the institution of slavery.
- They were lost to the family for the rest of their lives, as well as to history.
- Tragedy befell the family, and Tubman was powerless to save Rachel’s children, who remained slaves and of whom little is known.
- She was born in Dorchester County, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore of the state.
- As a result of her enslavement, it is difficult to determine exactly when Tubman was born; there were no official records of the births of enslaved children at the time.
- Who is Araminta Ross, and what is her story?
- She was affectionately known as “Minty” as a youngster.
Approximately one year before her marriage to John Tubman, a free African-American man, she changed her name to Harriet Tubman.
In order to convey more properly what happened when enslaved persons made the option to flee slavery, historians use the term “emancipation.” Self-determination, resistance, foresight, and active engagement are all necessary for people to achieve their liberation from oppression.
When it comes to describing those who risked their lives for a chance at freedom, the term of “self-emancipation” brings back elements like human agency, action, dedication, savviness, and courage that had been lost.
Words are essential because they can betray accidental prejudice or quietly represent a variety of points of view in subtle ways.
It conveys the message that, while individuals are restrained in bodily bonds, their minds and souls are free to go about.
Being cautious and inquisitive about the words that are being used as labels demonstrates respect for others.
What might possibly motivate someone to choose to remain enslaved rather than self-emancipate?
The decision might be traumatic because it could mean parting ways with family, friends, and everything familiar for the rest of one’s life.
The journeys were expected to be physically taxing, and the weather unpleasant and sometimes dangerous.
The repercussions of being apprehended were serious and terrible.
When did Harriet Tubman declare herself a free woman?
Tubman managed to flee in 1849 because she was on the verge of being sold into slavery.
The family had been fractured before; three of Tubman’s older sisters, Mariah Ritty, Linah, and Soph, had been sold into slavery in the Deep South and were thus lost to the family and history for all time.
Tubman fled on her own a short time later, traveling through Maryland and Delaware before crossing the border into Pennsylvania and achieving freedom there.
Harriet Tubman’s journey to freedom was a bittersweet one.
She thought that they, too, should have the right to be free.
In spite of the additional dangers posed by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which required the reporting and arrest of anyone suspected of being a runaway slave, repealed protections for suspected runaways, and provided economic incentives to kidnappers of people of African descent, Tubman risked her life and returned to the community where she was born on numerous occasions to rescue family, friends, and others.
- ‘I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can claim something that most conductors can’t say – I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger,’ she boasted in 1896 to a gathering of women’s suffrage activists.
- It’s most likely a mix of factors.
- She hailed from a strong community that had regular ties to other locations thanks to the tourists and employees that passed through on its roads and rivers on their route to and from their destinations.
- The greatest attribute of all, though, was Tubman’s unshakeable trust in God, which he maintained throughout his life.
- When did Tubman’s parents escape to the United States from Maryland?
Tubman rescued her elderly parents in the summer of 1857 when her father, Ben Ross, was warned that he would be arrested on suspicion of sheltering the Dover Eight-a group of eight freedom seekers from her home county in Maryland, including Tubman relatives-who were betrayed en route to Dover, Delaware, for a $3,000 reward.
- Despite the fact that Ross had been manumitted (freed) by this owner’s will in 1840 and that he had acquired his wife, Harriet “Rit” Green’s freedom in 1855, Ross’ freedom had always been precarious, and the fear of jail had forced them to flee Maryland.
- Exactly how many people Tubman helped to freedom over the course of almost a decade, in around thirteen distinct journeys, and at enormous personal risk to herself is unclear, but it is estimated that she helped over 70 people to freedom, many of whom were family members and friends.
- Because of her efforts to free people from slavery, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison dubbed her “Moses” in honor of the biblical figure.
- She returned to Maryland’s Eastern Shore in order to save members of her family, including her brothers Henry, Ben, and Robert, Moses, their spouses, and numerous of her nieces and nephews, as well as the children of those relatives.
- In 1855, Ross was able to secure the freedom of his wife, Rit.
- Despite the fact that Tubman’s husband, John Tubman, a free African man, had married again after she left Maryland, he refused to accompany her north when she came to fetch him when she arrived.
- Tubman is estimated to have aided over 70 persons in all, with the identities of nearly 40 of those individuals being known.
It was the railroad, which was a new technology at the time, that inspired the self-emancipation movement from slavery to use railroad language.
The “passengers” were those who were seeking freedom and attempting to flee.
Is it possible that Harriet Tubman lived somewhere else?
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it perilous for persons of African heritage, both free and formerly enslaved, to flee to the United States.
Tubman took her old parents to live in St.
They stayed in the city for approximately a decade and were both active in the movement.
What role did Harriet Tubman play in the advancement of women’s rights and the suffrage of women?
In addition to advocating for abolition, several of these individuals were active in the women’s suffrage campaign, notably Lucretia Mott in Philadelphia and her sister Martha Coffin Wright in Auburn.
When she was older, Tubman became a close companion of Susan B.
Is it possible to tell me more about Tubman’s involvement with the National Association of Colored Women?
Disenfranchisement, segregation, and lynching were among the issues that the group sought to solve, all of which were in line with Tubman’s principles.
The National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs has its headquarters in Washington, DC, and was founded in 1908. In 1937, the Empire State Federation of Women’s Clubs donated funds to have Tubman’s gravestone removed from Fort Hill Cemetery.
Underground Railroad
Did Harriet Tubman’s entire family relocate to Auburn with her? Unfortunately, not all of Tubman’s relatives relocated to Auburn since they were sold and no longer belonged to the family, but a few of them did relocate to New York State. In Auburn, Harriet “Rit” Green and Ben Ross, Tubman’s paternal grandparents, were born and raised. Among those who resided there were her brothers Robert (now known as John Stewart), Ben (now known as James Stewart), his wife Catherine, and their three children; and Henry (now known as William Henry Stewart), his wife Harriet Ann, and their children.
- Slavery had shattered the Ross family’s foundation.
- 1811), Linah (b.
- 1813), had been sold into slavery in the South before Tubman’s initial escape from Maryland and were thus lost to the family and to history for the rest of their lives.
- Tragedy befell the family, and Tubman was powerless to save Rachel’s children, who remained slaves and of whom nothing is known.
- Born in Dorchester County, Maryland’s Eastern Shore, she grew up in a family of musicians.
- We don’t know exactly when Tubman was born because she was enslaved; there were no official records of enslaved children being born at the time.
- Do you know who Araminta Ross is, exactly?
She was known as “Minty” when she was a youngster.
Approximately one year before her marriage to John Tubman, a free African-American man, she changed her name to Harriet.
Historians use this phrase to explain more properly what was taking place when enslaved individuals made the option to flee from their enslavement.
Prior to the Civil War, whites were frequently given credit for liberation, with the impression that those fleeing slavery were only passive players in their own rescues.
Does it make a difference what you say?
For example, the term “enslaved” is used to characterize the condition of individuals who have been forced to live against their will rather than to designate the human beings who are in that circumstance as “slaves” It conveys the message that people’s minds and spirits remain free even if they are physically bound.
- Even as youngsters, we learn that words have the potential to cause harm.
- When we are conscious of the significance of our words for others, it appears to be a nicer and more inviting decision to be intentional about our words.
- Everyone has to make the decision to self-emancipate for themselves after assessing the often unpleasant options available to them.
- It was agonizing to make the decision to abandon a young child.
- When incentives gave an economic motive for treachery, it was difficult to know who to put your faith in.
- Family members left behind were in peril, and they were exposed to a variety of risks that may have had devastating consequences for their well-being.
- Was there a particular reason she chose that particular moment to flee to safety?
- Slave owners’ financial troubles regularly resulted in the sale of slaves and other property, and Tubman was informed that she, her brothers Ben and Henry, and their mother were to be sold.
- Tubman and her brothers managed to flee, but they were forced to return when her brothers, one of whom was presumably a newlywed father, had second thoughts about their decision.
Tubman’s biographer, Sarah Bradford, cited Tubman as saying, “When I realized I had crossed that boundary, I glanced at my hands to see whether I was the same person I had been before.” I felt like I was in Heaven; the sun shone like gold through the trees and across the fields, and the air was filled with the scent of fresh cut grass and flowers.” So why did Harriet Tubman return to Maryland, when she knew it was so hazardous and she was safe in the north?
Harriet Tubman’s journey to freedom was a bitter-sweet one.
She thought that they, too, should have the right to be liberated.
They shouldn’t be free, but I was, and they should be.” In spite of the additional dangers posed by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which required the reporting and arrest of anyone suspected of being a runaway slave, repealed protections for suspected runaways, and provided economic incentives to kidnappers of people of African descent, Tubman risked her life and returned to the community where she was born on numerous occasions in order to rescue family, friends, and other people.
- “I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can claim what most conductors can’t say – I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger,” she told a women’s suffrage conference in 1896.
- Many factors are probably involved.
- She hailed from a strong community that had regular ties to other locations thanks to the tourists and employees who passed through on its roads and rivers on their way to and from their jobs.
- More than anything else in her life was Tubman’s unshakeable trust in God, which she maintained throughout her whole life.
- When did Tubman and her family escape from Maryland to the United States?
- The Dover Eight—a group of eight freedom seekers from Tubman’s home county in Maryland, including Tubman relatives—who were betrayed en route to Dover, Delaware for a $3,000 reward—were betrayed en route to Dover in the summer of 1857, and Tubman rescued her elderly parents.
- Ross had been manumitted (freed) by this owner’s will in 1840, and he had acquired the freedom of his wife, Harriet “Rit” Green, in 1855, but freedom was constantly in jeopardy, and the fear of jail forced them to flee Maryland in 1861.
However, over the course of almost a decade, in around thirteen consecutive voyages, and at tremendous personal risk to herself and her family, Tubman was responsible for the liberation of over 70 persons, many of whom were relatives and friends.
Because of her efforts to free people from slavery, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison dubbed her “Moses.” To whom did Tubman provide assistance in their quest for liberty?
Ben Ross, Tubman’s father, died when he was an elderly man (which was set to be at age 45, but because it was ignored by owners, he was not manumitted until about age 55 in 1840).
Tubman rescued them from Maryland and sent them to the north to live with her.
Self-emancipation was a tough decision that included delicate considerations regarding family relationships, children, how to make a living, and how to navigate the unfamiliar territory.
As a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, what does it mean to be in this position?
During the voyage to freedom, the conductor served as a physical guide.
Was Harriet Tubman ever a resident of any other place outside her home?
Persons of African origin, both free and formerly enslaved, fled to Canada in the aftermath of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which made it unsafe to be in the United States of America for people of African heritage.
Catharines, Ontario, where she spent nearly a decade.
Her work with “contraband” (previously enslaved persons who escaped to the safety of the Union Army at Fort Monroe in Virginia) lasted for a period of time as well.
The abolitionists who had been acquainted with Harriet Tubman through her Underground Railroad efforts continued in close contact with her after the Civil War ended.
Tubman’s introduction and motivation to attend political meetings regarding women’s suffrage and civil rights as early as the 1850s were most likely a result of these relationships.
Anthony, with whom she traveled to cities across the country to attend and speak at meetings of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, from New York to Boston.
Tubman addressed the first conference of the newly formed National Association of Colored Women in 1896, at a period of heightened violence against African Americans.
With its headquarters in Washington, DC, the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs continues to serve its members. Tubman’s monument in Fort Hill Cemetery was replaced in 1937 by the Empire State Federation of Women’s Clubs.
6 Strategies Harriet Tubman and Others Used to Escape Along the Underground Railroad
Despite the horrors of slavery, the decision to run was not an easy one. Sometimes escaping meant leaving behind family and embarking on an adventure into the unknown, where harsh weather and a shortage of food may be on the horizon. Then there was the continual fear of being apprehended. On both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, so-called slave catchers and their hounds were on the prowl, apprehending runaways — and occasionally free Black individuals likeSolomon Northup — and taking them back to the plantation where they would be flogged, tortured, branded, or murdered.
In total, close to 100,000 Black individuals were able to flee slavery in the decades leading up to the Civil War.
The majority, on the other hand, chose to go to the Northern free states or Canada.
1: Getting Help
Harriet Tubman, maybe around the 1860s. The Library of Congress is a federal government institution that collects and organizes information. No matter how brave or brilliant they were, few enslaved individuals were able to free themselves without the assistance of others. Even the smallest amount of assistance, such as hidden instructions on how to get away and who to trust, may make a significant difference. The most fortunate, on the other hand, were those who followed so-called “conductors,” like as Harriet Tubman, who, after escaping slavery in 1849, devoted her life to the Underground Railroad.
Tubman, like her other conductors, built a network of accomplices, including so-called “stationmasters,” who helped her hide her charges in barns and other safe havens along the road.
She was aware of which government officials were receptive to bribery.
Among other things, she would sing particular tunes or impersonate an owl to indicate when it was time to flee or when it was too hazardous to come out of hiding.
2: Timing
Tubman developed a number of other methods during the course of her career to keep her pursuers at arm’s length. For starters, she preferred to operate during the winter months when the longer evenings allowed her to cover more land. Also, she wanted to go on Saturday because she knew that no announcements about runaways would appear in the papers until the following Monday (since there was no paper on Sunday.) Tubman carried a handgun, both for safety and to scare people under her care who were contemplating retreating back to civilization.
The railroad engineer would subsequently claim that “I never drove my train off the track” and that he “never lost a passenger.” Tubman frequently disguised herself in order to return to Maryland on a regular basis, appearing as a male, an old lady, or a middle-class free black, depending on the occasion.
- They may, for example, approach a plantation under the guise of a slave in order to apprehend a gang of escaped slaves.
- Some of the sartorial efforts were close to brilliance.
- They traveled openly by rail and boat, surviving numerous near calls along the way and eventually making it to the North.
- After dressing as a sailor and getting aboard the train, he tried to trick the conductor by flashing his sailor’s protection pass, which he had obtained from an accomplice.
Enslaved women have hidden in attics and crawlspaces for as long as seven years in order to evade their master’s unwelcome sexual approaches. Another confined himself to a wooden container and transported himself from Richmond, Virginia, to Philadelphia, where abolitionists were gathered.
4: Codes, Secret Pathways
Circa 1887, Harriet Tubman (far left) is shown with her family and neighbors at her home in Auburn, New York. Photograph courtesy of MPI/Getty Images The Underground Railroad was almost non-existent in the Deep South, where only a small number of slaves were able to flee. While there was less pro-slavery attitude in the Border States, individuals who assisted enslaved persons there still faced the continual fear of being ratted out by their neighbors and punished by the law enforcement authorities.
In the case of an approaching fugitive, for example, the stationmaster may get a letter referring to them as “bundles of wood” or “parcels.” The terms “French leave” and “patter roller” denoted a quick departure, whilst “slave hunter” denoted a slave hunter.
5: Buying Freedom
The Underground Railroad, on the other hand, functioned openly and shamelessly for long of its duration, despite the passing of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, which prescribed heavy fines for anybody proven to have helped runaways. Stationmasters in the United States claimed to have sheltered thousands of escaped slaves, and their activities were well documented. A former enslaved man who became a stationmaster in Syracuse, New York, even referred to himself in writing as the “keeper of the Underground Railroad depot” in his hometown of Syracuse, New York.
At times, abolitionists would simply purchase the freedom of an enslaved individual, as they did in the case of Sojourner Truth.
Besides that, they worked to sway public opinion by funding talks by Truth and other former slaves to convey the miseries of bondage to public attention.
6. Fighting
The Underground Railroad volunteers would occasionally band together in large crowds to violently rescue fleeing slaves from captivity and terrify slave catchers into going home empty-handed if all else failed. Perhaps unsurprisingly, John Brown was one among those who advocated for the use of brutal force. Abolitionist leader John Brown led a gang of armed abolitionists into Missouri before leading a failed uprising in Harpers Ferry, where they rescued 11 enslaved individuals and murdered an enslaver.
Brown was followed by pro-slavery troops throughout the voyage.
Eastern Illinois University : Teaching with Primary Sources
However, many of the intriguing and lesser known elements of the Underground Railroad are not included in many textbooks, despite the fact that it is an essential part of our nation’s history. It is intended that this booklet will serve as a window into the past by presenting a number of original documents pertaining to the Underground Railroad. Broadsides, prize posters, newspaper clippings, historical records, sheet music, pictures, and memoirs connected to the Underground Railroad are among the primary sources included in this collection.
The Underground Railroad was a covert structure established to assist fugitive slaves on their journey to freedom in the United States.
As a result, secret codes were developed to aid in the protection of themselves and their purpose.
Runaway slaves were referred to as cargo, and the free persons who assisted them on their journey to freedom were referred to as conductors.
Stations were the names given to the safe homes that were utilized as hiding places along the routes of the Underground Railroad. These stations would be identified by a lantern that was lighted and hung outside.
A Dangerous Path to Freedom
Traveling through the Underground Railroad to seek their freedom was a lengthy and risky trek for escaped slaves. Runaway slaves were forced to travel long distances, sometimes on foot, in a short amount of time in order to escape. They accomplished this while surviving on little or no food and with little protection from the slave hunters who were rushing after them in the night. Slave owners were not the only ones who sought for and apprehended fleeing slaves. For the purpose of encouraging people to aid in the capture of these slaves, their owners would post reward posters offering monetary compensation for assisting in the capture of their property.
- Numerous arrested fugitive slaves were beaten, branded, imprisoned, sold back into slavery, or sometimes killed once they were apprehended.
- They would have to fend off creatures that wanted to kill and devour them while trekking for lengthy periods of time in the wilderness, as well as cross dangerous terrain and endure extreme temperatures.
- The Fleeing Slave Law of 1850 permitted and promoted the arrest of fugitive slaves since they were regarded as stolen property rather than mistreated human beings under the law at the time.
- They would not be able to achieve safety and freedom until they crossed the border into Canada.
- Aside from that, there were Underground Railroad routes that ran south, on their way to Mexico and the Caribbean.
- He was kidnapped from his northern abode, arrested, and prosecuted in Boston, Massachusetts, under the provisions of this legislation.
- After the trial, Burns was returned to the harshness of the southern states, from which he had thought he had fled.
American Memory and America’s Library are two names for the Library of Congress’ American Memory and America’s Library collections.
He did not escape via the Underground Railroad, but rather on a regular railroad.
Since he was a fugitive slave who did not have any “free papers,” he had to borrow a seaman’s protection certificate, which indicated that a seaman was a citizen of the United States, in order to prove that he was free.
Unfortunately, not all fugitive slaves were successful in their quest for freedom.
Harriet Tubman, Henry Bibb, Anthony Burns, Addison White, Josiah Henson, and John Parker were just a few of the people who managed to escape slavery using the Underground Railroad system.
He shipped himself from Richmond, Virginia, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a box that measured three feet long, two and a half feet deep, and two feet in diameter. When he was finally let out of the crate, he burst out singing.
ConductorsAbolitionists
Train conductors on the Underground Railroad were free persons who provided assistance to escaped slaves moving via the Underground Railroad system. Runaway slaves were assisted by conductors, who provided them with safe transportation to and from train stations. They were able to accomplish this under the cover of darkness, with slave hunters on their tails. Many of these stations would be in the comfort of their own homes or places of work, which was convenient. They were in severe danger as a result of their actions in hiding fleeing slaves; nonetheless, they continued because they believed in a cause bigger than themselves, which was the liberation thousands of oppressed human beings.
- They represented a diverse range of ethnicities, vocations, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Due to the widespread belief that slaves were considered property, the freeing of slaves was perceived as a theft of slave owners’ personal belongings.
- Captain Jonathan Walker was apprehended off the coast of Florida while attempting to convey slaves from the United States to freedom in the Bahamas.
- With the following words from one of his songs, abolitionist poet John Whittier paid respect to Walker’s valiant actions: “Take a step forward with your muscular right hand, brave ploughman of the sea!
- She never lost sight of any of them during the journey.
- He went on to write a novel.
- John Parker is yet another former slave who escaped and returned to slave states in order to aid in the emancipation of others.
Rankin’s neighbor and fellow conductor, Reverend John Rankin, was a collaborator in the Underground Railroad project.
The Underground Railroad’s conductors were unquestionably anti-slavery, and they were not alone in their views.
Individuals such as William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur and Lewis Tappan founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, which marked the beginning of the abolitionist movement.
The group published an annual almanac that featured poetry, paintings, essays, and other abolitionist material.
Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave who rose to prominence as an abolitionist after escaping from slavery.
His other abolitionist publications included the Frederick Douglass Paper, which he produced in addition to delivering public addresses on themes that were important to abolitionists.
Anthony was another well-known abolitionist who advocated for the abolition of slavery via her speeches and writings.
For the most part, she based her novel on the adventures of escaped slave Josiah Henson.
Efforts of Abolitionists Telling Their Story:Fugitive Slave Narratives
Henry Bibb was born into slavery in Kentucky in the year 1815, and he was the son of a slave owner. After several failed efforts to emancipate himself from slavery, he maintained the strength and persistence to continue his struggle for freedom despite being captured and imprisoned numerous times. His determination paid off when he was able to successfully escape to the northern states and then on to Canada with the assistance of the Underground Railroad, which had been highly anticipated. The following is an excerpt from his tale, in which he detailed one of his numerous escapes and the difficulties he faced as a result of his efforts.
- I began making preparations for the potentially lethal experiment of breading the shackles that tied me as a slave as soon as the clock struck twelve.
- On the twenty-fifth of December, 1837, the long-awaited day had finally arrived when I would put into effect my previous determination, which was to flee for Liberty or accept death as a slave, as I had previously stated.
- It took every ounce of moral strength I have to keep my emotions under control as I said goodbye to my small family.
- Despite the fact that every incentive was extended to me in order to flee if I want to be free, and the call of liberty was booming in my own spirit, ‘Be free, oh, man!
- I was up against a slew of hurdles that had gathered around my mind, attempting to bind my wounded soul, which was still imprisoned in the dark prison of mental degeneration.
- Furthermore, the danger of being killed or arrested and deported to the far South, where I would be forced to spend the rest of my days in hopeless bondage on a cotton or sugar plantation, all conspired to discourage me.
- The moment has come for me to follow through on my commitment.
- This marked the beginning of the construction of what was known as the underground rail route to Canada.
For nearly forty-eight hours, I pushed myself to complete my journey without food or rest, battling against external difficulties that no one who has never experienced them can comprehend: “not knowing when I might be captured while traveling among strangers, through cold and fear, braving the north winds while wearing only a thin layer of clothing, pelted by snow storms through the dark hours of the night, and not a single house in which I could enter to protect me from the storm.” This is merely one of several accounts penned by runaway slaves who were on the run from their masters.
Sojourner Truth was another former slave who became well-known for her work to bring slavery to an end.
Green and many others, including Josiah Henson, authored autobiographies in which they described their own personal experiences.
Perhaps a large number of escaped slaves opted to write down their experiences in order to assist people better comprehend their struggles and tribulations; or perhaps they did so in order to help folks learn from the mistakes of the past in order to create a better future for themselves.
How Harriet Tubman and William Still Helped the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad, a network of people who assisted enslaved persons in escaping to the North, was only as strong as the people who were willing to put their own lives in danger to do so. Among those most closely associated with the Underground Railroad were Harriet Tubman, one of the most well-known “conductors,” and William Still, who is often referred to as the “Father of the Underground Railroad.”
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery and guided others to freedom
Tubman, who was born into slavery in Maryland under the name Araminta Harriet Ross, was able to escape to freedom via the use of the Underground Railroad. Throughout her childhood, she was subjected to constant physical assault and torture as a result of her enslavement. In one of the most serious instances, she was struck in the head with an object weighing two pounds, resulting in her suffering from seizures and narcoleptic episodes for the rest of her life. John Tubman was a free black man when she married him in 1844, but nothing is known about their connection other than the fact that she adopted his last name.
- Even though she began the voyage with her brothers, she eventually completed the 90-mile journey on her own in 1849.
- As a result, she crossed the border again in 1850, this time to accompany her niece’s family to Pennsylvania.
- Instead, she was in charge of a gang of fugitive bond agents.
- Her parents and siblings were among those she was able to save.
- Tubman, on the other hand, found a way around the law and directed her Underground Railroad to Canada, where slavery was illegal (there is evidence that one of her destinations on an 1851 voyage was at the house of abolitionist Frederick Douglass).
- “”I was a conductor on the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say things that other conductors are unable to express,” she stated with a sense of accomplishment.
“I never had a problem with my train going off the tracks or losing a passenger.” Continue reading Harriet Tubman: A Timeline of Her Life, Underground Railroad Service, and Activism for more information.
William Still helped more than 800 enslaved people escape
Meanwhile, William Still was born in Burlington County, New Jersey, a free state, into a life of liberty and opportunity. The purchase of his freedom by his father, Levi Steel, occurred while his mother, Sidney, was on the run from slavery. He had just turned eighteen and was helping an acquaintance who was being pursued by slave hunters. After arriving to Philadelphia in 1844, he went to work for the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, first as a janitor and then as an administrative assistant.
His Underground Railroad “station” became a famous stopping point as he assisted in the emancipation of people oppressed and transported them to Canada.
Tubman made regular stops at Still’s station
Tubman was a frequent visitor at Still’s station, since she made a regular stop in Philadelphia on her way to New York. He is also said to have contributed monetarily to several of Tubman’s journeys. Her visits clearly left an effect on him, as evidenced by the inclusion of a section about her in his book, which followed a letter from Thomas Garrett about her ushering in arriving visitors. As Stillwright put it in his book, “Harriet Tubman had become their “Moses,” but not in the same way that Andrew Johnson had been their “Moses of the brown people.” “She had obediently gone down into Egypt and, through her own heroics, had delivered these six bondmen to safety.
But in terms of courage, shrewdness, and selfless efforts to rescue her fellow-men, she was without peer.
“While great anxieties were entertained for her safety, she appeared to be completely free of personal dread,” he went on to say.
will portray William Still, in the upcoming film Harriet. The film will explore the life and spirit of Tubman, and the role that Still had in guiding so many people on the road to freedom.
You have no idea how hardcore Harriet Tubman really was
Harriet Tubman, the woman who will be the face of the new $20 note, was a fearless and committed warrior during the American Civil War. Slavery was a part of her remarkable career, which included challenging slaveowners, smuggling dozens of slaves to freedom as part of the Underground Railroad, conducting raids during the Civil War, and campaigning for women’s suffrage, all of which she achieved while living with a handicap. Tubman was, in short, a tough as nails individual. According to writer Catherine Clinton, the former slave endangered her life several times, and even conducted an impromptu dental surgery on herself while on the road for the Underground Railroad, striking out her front tooth with a gun.
- To learn more about Tubman’s incredible journey and what the decision to place her face on American currency implies, I chatted with Clinton, the author of the 2004 book “Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom.” In order to maintain clarity and length, the following transcript has been altered.
- For those who are interested in history, this is a fantastic day.
- The presence of someone like Harriet Tubman demonstrates that Americans are now acknowledging the contributions made by women and African Americans to the construction of our country.
- I believe she would be taken aback if she were to get such an accolade.
- She had a strong sense of belonging as a member of a collective body, as a member of the Underground Railroad.
- She operated as a scout, as a spy, and ultimately as a liberator in the war on terror.
- Because she was working as a spy, she did not have the required documents, and as a result, she was unable to apply for a pension after the war.
Not a widow’s pension, but a pension for her contribution as a military commander, as someone who was willing to put her life on the line, as she had done for the most of her military career, from the time of her liberation to the time of her death.
Yes.
The Treasury Department stated that the new banknotes would include a feature that will, for the first time, assist blind persons in distinguishing between them.
I’m aware that she suffered from fits, seizures, and intense visions throughout her life, according to historical reports.
She was plainly handicapped, and she has received a warm welcome from those who have impairments.
Was it a childhood injury that caused this?
Was it the onset of narcolepsy or epilepsy, or something else?
It’s also astonishing to think that she stepped into this warrior position and worked on the Underground Railroad although she was suffering from a variety of medical issues.
There was a tale about her having a painful tooth while driving and being concerned that it would hinder her from transporting people to safety.
Are there any other aspects of her life that you believe the public should be better aware of?
Moreover, later in life, she became a vocal supporter of women’s right to vote?
The notion that she may arrive in a place like Rochester where there were no integrated hotels and would have to spend the night at the railway station didn’t bother her because she was so humble.
Is it true that she’s been getting more attention lately?
Her incredible accomplishments have made her so popular by kids, but I believe that we are doing her a disservice if we do not recognize her for who she truly was: a great American hero.
Consider all of the lives she affected – the individuals she brought to freedom who were allowed to marry and have children – and how she served as a symbol of liberation for so many people who came to know her as Moses.
For this reason, she had a job that was disguised: she operated in secret, clandestinely, and guided individuals to freedom in the middle of the night, among other things.
There were many people in the African American community who worked to keep Tubman’s reputation and legacy alive, but there was no scholarly biography written until 1943, and it wasn’t until 2004 that three biographies were published at the same time, and she has experienced quite a renaissance since then.
- Is it accurate to say that you met with Treasury officials as they were making this decision?
- Lew was contemplating his choices, posing the question of who should be on the money, and soliciting feedback from the public through letters to Treasury.
- When we met in August of last year, it was entirely unlocked.
- Another expert pointed out that we have had a woman on our paper currency previously, and that lady was Martha Washington, who was included on our currency since she was married to a president.
- Many deserving candidates were debated at that meeting, which was attended by many people.
- What do you believe the best way to depict Tubman should be on the currency?
- Do you believe that’s a fair picture of the situation?
- For the other hand, I opted to put a photograph of her on my cover in which her hair was exposed and she was wearing a white collar.
- It is a distinguishing characteristic of her character because she is presented with considerable dignity, and others would comment on her well-kept look.
- Is there anything else you’d like us to take into consideration?
If you can put a woman on the money who had such a remarkable life and career, and find that there are so many ordinary Americans or even political leaders who have so little knowledge about the Americans who built our country, I believe that putting her face on the bill benefits both Americans and her face.
And it truly was a tidal wave in the fight against slavery, as well as a stride forward in the fulfillment of America’s promise of democracy.
Tubman demonstrated exactly how crucial the battle against slavery was by putting everything on the line. Here’s what the new $20, $10, and $5 notes will look like. (Photo courtesy of Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)