Harriet Tubman Dbq Essay

Brave, non-conforming, and determined are a few words that could be used to describe Harriet Tubman. In 1822 Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Dorchester County, Maryland. At just 5 years of age she was already doing child care with 12 tougher jobs such as hauling logs and working the fields. After her master died in 1849 Tubman knew she had to escape; she walked over 100 miles on foot to Pennsylvania. For the rest of her life she had many great accomplishments such as being a conductor on the underground railroad, spying for the Union during the civil war, being a nurse in the civil war, and caring for the unfortunate (Background Essay). The greatest of her accomplishments was without a doubt being a spy because of her time spent, people

Firstly, Tubman spent two years spying for the Union, ultimately ending in one night when she and a few gunboats set many slaves free (Document C). She did not spend all that much time working as a spy compared to her other accomplishments. Even so, it was still quite a commitment because of the fact that she was not only behind enemy lines, but she was also in a plantation where the plantation owner would have heard of her from her time working on the Underground Railroad. As one could imagine, those two years likely would have felt like 4 because of all the stress she was under. Also, on June 2nd 1863 Tubman along with some men on gunboats freed 800 people from slavery; Tubman then led 100 of them to the recruiter to enlist. She also sang to the people she was rescuing in order to calm them down so that they would get on the rowboats (Document C). In one day Tubman helped more people than in every other one of her accomplishments, not to mention the people she would have indirectly saved with the men who enlisted. The men who enlisted helped the Union to fight and win the war, meaning Tubman helped to

For example, they might say her nursing during the Civil War was better because she spent four years nursing for the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers (Document D). Although she did spend more time as a nurse than as a spy, those four years as a nurse were not as valuable as the two years she spent as a spy. Others may say Tubman’s time caring for the unfortunate was greater because she helped hundreds of people who could not help themselves (Document E). Although she did help hundreds of people, it is not known just how many people she helped because it was not documented, so it must be assumed that she helped less than 800, therefore making her time spent as a spy a greater achievement. Finally, many would say Harriet Tubman’s time on the Underground Railroad was her best accomplishment because she had to travel hundreds of miles with a bounty on her head and with slave owners knowing she might save their slaves (Document A and B). However, when she was a spy she had to act like a slave therefore being closer to slave owners who knew who she was. So although Tubman’s other accomplishments are great, none are as amazing as her time spent as a