Harriet Tubman Essay

Harriet Tubman is a larger than life icon and an American hero. Harriet was born into a family of eleven children who were born into slavery. Benjamin Ross and Harriet Greene were her parents, and lived on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. Harriet was put to work by the age of five, and served as a maid and children’s nurse. At the age of six Araminta was taken from her parents to live with James Cook, whose wife was a weaver, to learn the skills of weaving. James Cook would order her to guard his muskrat traps, which compelled her to walk through the water. At the age of 12 she became a field hand. Because Harriet Tubman wanted freedom, she fought constantly to achieve it. Harriet went from slave to inspiration in a matter of years.

In Harriet’s younger days she received a severe blow which was severe for a long time, and made her very sluggish or underactive. At some point during her formative years, Araminta took her mother's name, Harriet. In 1844, she adopted the surname of her first husband, a free African American named John Tubman. The couple had only been married for five years when Harriet decided that she too would enjoy the taste of freedom, by running away. Born a slave on Maryland’s eastern shore, she endured the harsh existence of a field hand, including brutal beatings. “Mah people mus’ go free,” her constant refrain, suggests a determination uncommon among even the most militant slaves. Harriet Tubman was a very important person in the history of slavery. She played a major role in helping free slaves. Harriet Tubman has made a difference in many slaves’ lives. She was a helpful and caring person. Tubman believed in the equality of all people, black or white, male or female, which made her sympathetic to the women’s rights movement. Tubman’s role was not that of a leader but that of a strong supporter. As a woman