Harriet Tubman's place in history is inarguable. Born Araminta Ross, the Union spy and women's suffragist put her own freedom at risk to help more than 70 people escape slavery on the Underground Railroad. So how did she do it? Born to Harriet "Rit" Green and Ben Ross sometime near 1820 on a Maryland plantation owned by the Brodess family, Tubman was one of nine children, and in the course of her childhood, three of her sisters were sold off to faraway plantations.
When slaveholder Edward Brodess informed Tubman's mother that her youngest child, Moses, was soon to be sold away, Rit refused to cooperate. She fought Brodess off so bravely that he eventually had no choice but to give in and allow mother and son to remain together.
Tubman witnessed her mother's courageous battle and was inspired by it. In 1849, Harriet decided to escape to Philadelphia. Her brothers joined her on the perilous journey, but they lost their nerve when they saw a newspaper ad offering $300 for their recovery.
Tubman accompanied her brothers safely back to Maryland, but having tasted freedom, she wanted nothing less. She followed the North Star and the Underground Railroad to Pennsylvania on her own.
#Harriet #HarrietTubman #UndergroundRailroad
Inspired by her mother | 0:15
A blow to the head | 1:05
John Brown's buddy | 2:14
The Combahee River Raid | 3:06
Fighting for her family | 3:56
Harriet in charge | 4:43
Connecting to Canada | 5:58
What retirement plan? | 6:45
Her biblical nickname | 7:18
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