How Did Harriet Tubman Escape From Slavery Dbq

“I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other,” is what Harriet Tubman thought to herself as she was getting ready to escape from slavery (BGE). Harriet Tubman was born as Araminta Ross around 1822, as they did not track the birth date of enslaved people (BGE). She was born into slavery, and at the age of 5 was hired out to do child-care (BGE). At 27 years old, she decided that she would escape slavery, escaping on foot, only traveling when the skies were dark enough to see stars. She followed north-south traveling streams and rivers to help her reach freedom. Harriet Tubman spent her life accommodating for others while taking risks like being

Traveling on the Underground Railroad was a long journey, the mileage alone being 675 miles or more (Doc A). Not only that, they mostly traveled in the winter during the night, where the cold weather slowly destroyed their bodies. They also traveled on foot, adding on to the threat of potentially being caught with no real way to escape, even in the North after the Fugitive Slave Act. In 1850, Congress passed an act that required Northerners to turn in escaped slaves (BGE). The new act added extra risk in the North, as now they had to escape to Canada to be free of any risks (Doc A). Tubman also traveled with people that added more danger like her parents in the summer of 1857, and babies in her last trip in December of 1860 (Doc B). Her parents were in danger from the authorities because they sheltered fugitive slaves, which put extra targets on their backs. Traveling with babies that cry loudly makes them a nosier target, especially while traveling on foot in the middle of a December

She helped upwards of 38 people in 11 trips total (Doc B). Taking multiple people on each trip is incredibly impressive, as you have to look after people while in hiding. Not only did she have to take care of people, but she also had to make sure that they did not stray far from their group while traveling in the dark nights. And although she helped save more than 800 slaves during the Civil War as a spy, being an Underground Railroad conductor is still her greatest achievement. When she was helping free the slaves, she combined her efforts with hundreds of more people to free 800 people, while on the Underground Railroad, she was the single leader in her “operation” instead of hundreds of people (Doc C). While by herself, she helped free more than 38 people, over the course of several month long trips, walking at least 675 miles one way (Doc A and B). Helping around 40 people on 11 trips did not happen overnight, as she spent many years being a conductor. Tubman’s time devoted to being an Underground Railroad conductor made it her greatest accomplishment. Harriet Tubman spent 10 years as an Underground Railroad conductor, which is impressive (Doc