Harriet Tubman Dbq Essay

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world” (Harriet Tubman). Harriet Tubman followed her own advice; she reached for the stars and changed the world. But Harriet did not begin her life with such lofty ideas. Harriet Tubman began her life in slavery in 1822. She lived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, a place that had both free and enslaved blacks. After her master’s death in 1849, Harriet believed that her life as a slave needed to end. She escaped one-hundred miles to the Pennsylvania border by foot. There she decided to escort other slaves to freedom and devote the rest of her life to helping others. Harriet Tubman lived

Harriet Tubman, after escaping from slavery in 1849, was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. In the ten years that Harriet Tubman was a conductor, she led eight rescue missions and saved approximate thirty-eight people. (Doc B). Two of those rescue missions began in Dorchester County, Maryland and ended in St. Catherines, which is in Canada. The mileage of those two trips, from beginning to end, was approximately 1200 miles. (Doc A and B). Three years after her last rescue mission, Harriet Tubman joined the Union Army as a spy. She headed up a team of spies that conducted a raid in June of 1863. (Doc C). Harriet Tubman, as the leader of the raid, helped 800 slaves escape in one day. She sang to the slaves to calm them down, then helped 100 of the men enlist in the Union Army. (Doc C). Seven weeks after the Combahee River Raid, Harriet Tubman continued working with the Union Army, but at this time, as a nurse. She cared for the wounded survivors of the Massachusetts 54th regiment. To care for the soldiers, she used water to wash the wounds. (Doc D). Harriet Tubman, in her four years as a nurse and her time as a spy, never received pay nor a pension. (Doc C and D). Helping slaves escape on the Underground Railroad, leading a Union Army raid,

First, Harriet took care of six to eight disabled persons in her home at one time. Based on Harriet’s previous impoverished lifestyle, it is likely that these people did not pay to live with Harriet. She took them in out of the kindness of her own heart. Second, Harriet Tubman took care of people that could not take care of themselves. She took in people that were part of a lower class in society that often had no where else to go. Based on the document, it is also likely that Harriet took care of these people by herself. She took on a tremendous challenge, and third, she took on this challenge for forty-eight years. She took care of disabled people for well over half of her life, and did so in her old age as well. Harriet Tubman died when she was ninety-one years old. In the final analysis, Harriet Tubman’s life is important to study today because she modeled the best that society has to offer. Harriet Tubman, based on her attributes and contribution to society, could have won the Nobel Peace Prize, or could be considered for a Catholic saint. She was an amazing person that never asked for anything in return. If more people in society were like Harriet Tubman, the United States would be an outstanding place to live. Harriet Tubman embodied the beliefs of another well known leader, Mahatma Ghandi, “Be the change that you wish to see in the