Harriet Tubman Accomplishments

Harriet Tubman was a dauntless woman who risked her life numerous times to liberate slaves. She profoundly affected America economically, politically and socially. Her three significant accomplishments involved her working as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, her various jobs for the union and the charitable institutions that she founded.
Tubman saw that it was necessary to free these slaves because of the brutal conditions they were subjected to. At the age of 5, she worked as a nursemaid. She was whipped every time she fell into a slumber when she had to take care of her master’s child. Furthermore, if the baby was to wake the parents by crying, Tubman was punished. 7 year old Tubman acquired measles because of her job disposing of

She returned into slave territory nineteen times to ensure slaves would be freed, knowing that she would be killed or tortured heinously to set an example if she was caught. The Underground Railroad was comprised of abolitionists who stationed runaways, fed them, sheltered them and helped them flee to the north to attain freedom. When the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act passed, Harriet sent runaways to Canada instead of the north; anyone that was caught assisting slaves in fleeing was to be punished with a fine of one thousand dollars and any slaves who were caught were to be returned to their masters. This was dangerous because slave masters could do anything to the slaves they pleased, so it was much safer to escape to Canada instead of the north, where there were legal repercussions. She was so adamant that the slaves she freed attained freedom that she threatened whoever tried to return with a pistol because they jeopardized other runaway’s freedom and their own. She was revered for her work as a ‘conductor’ of the Underground Railroad, and was even named ‘Moses’ after a prophet who led the Israelites to freedom in Egypt. Her empowerment of slaves had such a huge social impact because she gave them hope. The Underground Railroad had a moderate economic impact due to the fact that each slave was working for free and generating profits for their master

With her knowledge of the terrain, due to her aforementioned Underground Railroad pioneering, she was more capable in freeing slaves. As an outcome, in addition to the estimated 300 slaves Tubman freed, she also freed 750 slaves in a raid on a South Carolinian shore. This raid did not result in even one reported Union solider death. Many of these freed soldiers joined the army as well. In Fort Monroe, runaways (called “contrabands”) were assisted in manual labor by Tubman. She also created routes for slaves to escape through in her time working at Combahee River. Her inconspicuous appearance was crucial for raids under Colonel Montgomery’s command. With her knowledge of the southern coastal territory, Tubman successfully commanded a successful expedition of 150 African American soldiers at Combahee River in June 1863. These courageous acts had a political impact because she constantly assisted the union in winning small feats against the confederate army that contributed to the eventual victory of the union