Slavery: Harriet Tubman And The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was used by an estimated one-hundred thousand fugitive slaves to help them gain their freedom from slavery (“Underground Railroad”). The Underground Railroad was a secretive organization that helped runaway slaves gain freedom in the north, thanks to many brave people, or conductors, who led trips north for thousands of slaves, and the many different ways people knew about the organization without most people ever finding out. The Underground Railroad is an organization made by freed slaves and white sympathizers who helped many slaves travel North and find freedom (“Underground Railroad”). The Underground Railroad was mostly operated at night and it provided food, directions, and shelter for slaves making their way

Perhaps one of the most famous conductors was Harriet Tubman. Tubman was a freed slave and dedicated her life to saving and freeing other slaves (“Harriet Tubman”). Tubman entered the South where slavery was legal 19 different times and rescued about 300 men, women, and children (“Harriet Tubman”). Tubman grew up as a slave on a plantation in Dorchester, Maryland (Benson). Harriet Tubman worked as a part of a large organization called The Underground Railroad, which helped free slaves and safely move them north so they could live a free life (“Harriet Tubman”). Tubman grew up as a slave but later found out that she was technically not a slave because her mother was freed without even knowing it and continued to live through slavery as a free slave (“Harriet Tubman”). When Harriet was about thirteen, one of her fellow slaves who lived on the plantation with her tried to escape, when the master went to catch him, a young Tubman blocked him and was hit in the head with a 2 pound weight (Benson). When Tubman was hit with the weight, it left her skull permanently pressed to her brain, giving her unconscious spells throughout the rest of her life (Benson). Tubman lived in Philadelphia but later moved to Saint Catherines, Canada due to the danger of being caught and returned to slavery (“Harriet Tubman”). Harriet Tubman would show up at slave cabins in the middle of the night on a Saturday and they would leave the following morning because slave hunters are likely to be at church on Sunday mornings (Benson). Tubman used tricks to free slaves, including boarding south-bound trains to trick the slave hunters (“Harriet Tubman”). It is believed that at one time, there was a $40,000 dollar bounty out for Harriet Tubman (“Harriet Tubman”). Tubman started rescuing and freeing slaves within a year of escaping slavery herself (Benson). Harriet Tubman later joined the