Harriet Tubman Bronze Sculpture Jane DeDecker, 1997 Click on image to view full size (Full image = 394k)	Introduction
	Tubman's Early Influences
	Fugitive Slave Act
	Toward Freedom
	Tubman's Legacy
	The Harriet Tubman Statue at Brenau
	Sources
	Return to HY/PO306 Women's History Website

Tubman was born Araminta Ross in either 1820 or 1821 on a plantation in Bucktown, Maryland to Benjamin Ross and Harriet Greene Ross (Hine 1177). Her actual birthdate is not known because accurate records of slave births were seldom kept ("Tubman, Harriet" 1). One of eleven children, Araminta (or "Minty") was fortunate enough to be raised by her mother; many children were sold away from their parents (Hine 1177). At the age of eleven, Araminta quit using her "basket name" and began to be called by her mother's name, Harriet (Hine 1177).

Tubman and her family lived in a windowless, one-room shack ("The Harriet Tubman Page" 1). Few clothes were available to Harriet so she usually wore the same soiled dress. Their small home was inadequate protection from the cold. On terribly cold nights, Tubman slept close to the fire; she sometimes covered her toes in the smoldering ashes to prevent frostbite. Meat was rare in the Ross household even though her family had the right to hunt and fish. The main staple of their diet was cornmeal ("Tubman, Harriet" 1).

Harriet Tubman was probably one of the most rebellious children in her family (Lunardini 67). When she was interviewed after the Civil War, Tubman gave a candid account of the first time she ran away:

Tubman was beaten for this attempted escape, but it was not her last. Tubman's childhood memories, like those of many other slaves, included numerous beatings by her white masters for various infractions (Lunardini 67). Tubman was known to put on a thick layer of clothing to protect herself from morning beatings. One beating left Tubman permanently impaired. At ten years of age, Tubman witnessed a foiled escape attempt by a fellow slave. She refused to tie the slave up, and, as a result, he freed himself and escaped successfully ("The Harriet Tubman Page" 1). An owner determined to retaliate struck the young girl on the head with a two pound weight while attempting to pursue the runaway slave ("Harriet Tubman (1820-1913)" 1). Tubman suffered narcoleptic seizures and severe headaches throughout her life as a result of this near fatal injury (Hine 1177). The beating also left a permanent indention in her forehead (Lunardini 67). By the age of ten, Tubman's back had already been heavily scarred from repeated whippings not only at the hand of her own master, but at the hands of those to whom she was rented ("The Harriet Tubman Page" 1).

At the age of six, Tubman was considered old enough to work. Fieldwork was inappropriate for such a young girl, so she was rented out to a couple who set her to work as a weaver. When her progress was unsatisfactory, the couple gave her the task of checking the muskrat traps. It was through this job that Tubman contracted measles and bronchitis, two maladies that left her with a deep, husky voice ("Tubman, Harriet" 1).

At age ten, Tubman went to work in the fields. Following the custom of all plantations, she began to wear a bright cotton bandana around her head. This indicated that she was no longer a child ("Tubman, Harriet" 1). It was through this difficult labor that she developed physical strength and endurance that set her apart from some of the other female slaves ("Childhood" 1). While working in the fields of a neighbor, Tubman first heard about the Underground Railroad. Stories of slaves who had escaped to freedom in the North were circulated around the plantation ("The Harriet Tubman Page" 1).

In 1844, Harriet was forced by her master to marry John Tubman, a man who would prove to be unfaithful to her on many occasions. Tubman's owner died in 1849, confirming her deepest fears that she would be separated from her family. It was at this moment that she decided flee North to achieve freedom. However, John would not allow her escape. He went as far as to threaten to turn his wife their master. Tubman was determined to find her freedom and escaped without her husband or children (Malone 27).

Guided only by the brightness of the North Star, Tubman escaped to the North (Malone 27). Once she had a taste of freedom, she was determined to let others experience it. She found her way to Pennsylvania, but thought constantly about the family and friends she had left behind. Tubman then decided to return to the South to free her parents. She devised a plan that included the help of many freedmen such as William Still, Thomas Garrett, Jacob Jackson, two of her brothers, Benjamin and Robert, and a sister, Mary Ann Bowley (Bennett 54). By using a series of safe houses along the way, Tubman was able to guarantee a safe passage for all that would travel in search of their freedom.

Freedom gave Harriet Tubman a new purpose in life. Tubman used the income from her jobs to return back to the South and rescue runaway slaves who desired freedom. Tubman was not alone in efforts. She developed close relationships with white abolitionists Thomas Garrett of Wilmington, Delaware and John Brown. She frequently spoke at abolitionist meetings and women's rights assemblies, often concealing her name for protection from slave hunters. Her forceful leadership led Brown to refer admiringly to her as "General" Tubman. She helped Brown plan his October 1859 raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. However, illness prevented her from fighting with Brown during the actual raid. William Still was an active proponent of the Underground Railroad. Tubman relied on these men and on others for assistance as she escorted runaways to the North and to Canada (Hine, 1178).

Historian Christine A. Lunardini defines the Underground Railroad as "a loosely organized network that helped slaves escape from the South by transporting them from contact to contact" (68). The Underground Railroad operated in 14 northern states from Maine to Nebraska, but its heaviest activities were concentrated in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, New York, and the New England states. Freed slaves were called "freights." Routes were called "lines." Stopping places were called "stations." Those who helped the slaves along the way were "conductors." The Underground Railroad provided shelter, food, and assistance for runaway slaves during their flight. With additional funding from supporters, Tubman was able to make more frequent runs to the South. She was so successful that Southern authorities offered a $40,000 reward for her capture. Tubman's "work on the Underground Railroad [was] famous in the North, [yet] infamous in the South" (Smith & Jeffers, 41).

In spite of the risk of discovery, Tubman continued to work on the Underground Railroad. In total, Tubman made 19 trips into the South and rescued more than 300 slaves prior to the Civil War in 1861. She rescued her sister, Mary Ann Bowley and her two children in 1850 (Hine, 1177). In 1857, she rescued her parents, Benjamin Ross and Harriet Greene. Ten years later, she made her last rescue and freed Steven Ennets, his wife Maria, and their three children (Hine 1179). Before she died, Harriet Tubman proudly recalled: "I never ran my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger" (Compton's, Tubman).

Once in Canada, slaves were free from the prosecution mandated by the Fugitive Slave Acts. These statutes, passed by Congress in 1793 and 1850, provided for the capture and return of slaves who escaped into free states or territories. To counteract these laws, personal-liberty laws were passed by some northern states. Although these personal-liberty laws could not make slaves free, they did hamper federal officials and judges in implementing the Fugitive Slaves Act.

The outbreak of the Civil War did not end Tubman's work. Similar to the 186,000 African-American soldiers that served in the Union Army, she took an active role in the Civil War. She earned the distinction as the only woman in American military history to plan and execute an armed expedition against enemy forces. Some of her most notable expeditions were her raids on plantations along the Combahee River in South . Tubman also served as a spy, scout, and cook for the Union Army.

After the war, Tubman helped establish educational institutions in the South. Unfortunately, her efforts went largely unrewarded. She spent many decades after the Civil War trying to collect $1,800 dollars from the United States government that refused to recognize her wartime services. Even though Tubman did not receive any veteran's benefits, she did accept official commendations from Union Army officers. In 1869, she married a Union Army veteran. At his death in 1899, Tubman was granted a pension (Encarta, Tubman). This pension was not given to her for her own contributions to the war, but because she was the widow of a war veteran.

Tubman remained active in the fight for civil rights even after the Civil War. After moving to Auburn, New York, Tubman opened the Home for Indigent and Aged Negroes. To raise money for these efforts, Sarah Hopkins Bradford wrote Tubman's first biography, Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, which was published in 1869. In subsequent editions, the title was changed to Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People. After a life of poverty and poor health, Tubman died on March 10, 1913 and was buried with military honors. Her work was finally acknowledged at her death. "Tubman never considered doing less than she could to help bring down the slave system" (Lundardini 68).

In 1868, Frederick Douglass paid tribute to the importance of Tubman's efforts.

[T]he most that you have done had been witnessed by a few trembling, scared, and foot-sore women, whom you have led out of the house of bondage, and whose heartfelt 'God Bless You' has been your only reward (Hine 1180).

Douglass accurately describes what Tubman's life was really all about. She did not risk her life helping slaves escape to freedom for fame or monetary gain. She dedicated her life to this cause simply because it was a wrong that needed to be fixed. She remains an important figure for historians interested in understanding this nation's fight for civil rights.

Brenau University is proud to have one of Jane DeDecker's life-sized statues gracing the entry to Thurmond-McRae Lecture Hall. DeDecker, a Colorado sculptor, graciously donated her Harriet Tubman statue to Brenau in September of 1997. Brenau President John Burd thought this powerful piece of art would be a valuable asset to a women's college. "DeDecker is a woman artist producing sculptures of a famous American woman," Burd said in a recent interview. DeDecker has produced more than 150 limited edition bronze sculptures. Her most popular work depicts children, a joy in DeDecker's life. DeDecker's work is now part of Brenau's Permanent Art Collection. She has a permanent installation at the New Matteucci Fine Art Gallery in Santa Fe, New-Mexico.

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Paper prepared by Spring 98 HY/PO306-Women in US History and Politics class
Last updated: February 20, 1998
By: Dr. Catherine M. Lewis