Harriet Tubman Chapter 1 Summary

Harriet Tubman demonstrated the power of adaptability throughout her life. In the year 1849 after the death of Harriet Tubman’s master Edward Brodess, his wife petitioned the court to sell one of their slaves Keziah, who was Tubman’s niece. Keziah’s mom, which was Tubman’s sister had been sold south when Keziah was just a kid. As a result, Keziah’s relationship with Tubman became very strong. When Tubman heard that Keziah was to be sold south like her mother, she was greatly disturbed. She didn’t want to see history repeat itself in her family. This was right after her escape to the North and the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. Keziah’s husband reached out to Tubman after her escape seeking for help. This terrible news from home caused Tubman

When the auctioneers were dinning Keziah’s husband smuggled Keziah and her kids aboard a boat and rowed them to Chesapeake’s western shore to meet Tubman. “This first rescue demonstrated Tubman’s power of adaptability. Within a year of her own escape, she was able to head into the new and strange streets of Baltimore, locate assistance, find a safe house and navigate the shoals of freedom” (Clinton 81). Tubman’s contact with black brethren and white abolitionists in Philadelphia provided inroads into Baltimore. It is likely that her UGRR contacts would naturally have smoothed the operation. “Perhaps she sought help from a conductor named Coleman, who drove his merchandise on the turnpike from Baltimore to Pennsylvania, hiding slave in his wagon. Maybe she was able to tap Jacob Gibbs, a black UGRR agent operating in Baltimore. All that mattered was that she safely guided Keziah and her children from slavery to freedom” (Clinton 81). When Keziah crossed over to freedom, just like her beloved aunt Tubman, she changed her name and became Mary

At first after Tubman moved north to freedom she often missed her family whom she left behind. So when she heard of Keziah’s trade, she was devastated. She knew she had to everything in her power to save her. She started by exploring the antislavery and UGRR network to find connection in which she could use to rescue her niece. She took a risk and challenged herself by going back to the south despite the fact that she could have been caught. The author said “it was one of the first signs of her extraordinary courage” (Clinton 80). To be able to go back to Eastern Shore where a reward for her recapture remained fresh shows her ability to