Many historians only gloss over Harriet Tubman and how vital she was too many different movements. She was born into slavery in the 1820’s in Maryland. At birth her name was Araminta Ross but later in life she took her mother’s name, Harriet, and married John Tubman (Clavin). At approximately 30 years old she found out she was going to be sold to the deep south and vowed to run away (Eskridge 67-68). She made it to freedom despite a condition that caused her to black out (Clavin). This was the beginning of a long career of standing up to authority. As a black woman, Harriet Tubman was critical to the abolitionist movement because she led over 300 slaves to freedom, the Union in the Civil War because she was a spy and the women's right’s movement because she was an effective public speaker. …show more content…
During the 1850’s she freed hundreds of people by not taking any risks. If there was a baby in the group, she would drug it to make sure it’s cry wouldn’t alert anyone. She also never let anyone leave because if they did, they might betray her. As “public enemy number one” she had a $40,000 reward on her head, but despite several close calls she was never caught (Carrie page 53). One of the close calls happened when she was visiting a town. She heard two men questioning people about her, upon hearing them say that the Harriet Tubman, they were looking for could not read or write she pretended to read the book she was carrying and had to hope that it was not upside down. The ruse worked and Tubman escaped (Coleman