Harriet Tubman Accomplishments

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Often acknowledged as the Moses of enslaved people, Harriet Tubman was an influential leader in her time and moved many people into freedom during the slave era. Born circa 1820, Harriet Tubman accomplished the seemingly impossible throughout her life; leader of the Underground Railroad, an abolitionist, Union nurse during the Civil War, and supporter of the suffrage movement. She amazingly did all this being a minority woman in a time where white men were the only ones in a place of power. Harriet Tubman’s birth name was Araminta Ross, and she kept that name until she changed it to Harriet upon adulthood, to honor her mother. She was born a slave on a plantation in Maryland, and lived through dreadful conditions until she escaped circa 1850. …show more content…
The impact Tubman created in taking the risk to travel through the network was monumental, as it encouraged others to support her efforts, such as the white abolitionists who became involved in the movement. Without Tubman’s efforts, many people would still be under slavery, and the inspiration slaves needed to escape would not be present. Through such leadership and bravery, she was nicknamed Moses by the many people whose lives she saved. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 stated that all slaves who ran away to the North would be brought back to slavery. This was a setback for the abolitionist effort and the intentions of Northern states. The court reasoning behind the act came from the fear of slave rebellion from the North, and this intensified fear in the rest of the nation. Many slave owners also took this law to recapture free blacks who had earned their freedom, and the North was required to comply, irrespective of their beliefs. However, this act did not stop Harriet Tubman’s movement; she was brave and adjusted to the workings of the law. Harriet moved to Ontario, Canada and planned new routers through the Underground Railroad. From Canada, the Fugitive Slave Act would not apply to any slaves that …show more content…
Not only did Harriet Tubman save many individual lives as a first hand navigator through the Underground Railroad, she was also an abolitionist who intensely fought against slavery. Of course, Tubman always had an abolitionist mindset, but she became a formal part of the movement only after meeting key figures. One of these people she had met was John Brown, who went on to lead an armed slave rebellion known as Harpers Ferry. As history tells, his raid was not successful, but Tubman saw the impact the raid made. She later said how "he done more in dying, than 100 men would in living." (Humez 40) to demonstrate the significance of the raid. Tubman also met the renowned Fredrick Douglass and shared ideas with him regarding abolition, especially about nonviolent ways that they could make a difference. Concerning the abolitionist movement, Tubman is most known for her importance in raising the popularity of the Underground Railroad and has become a historical icon for the movement. During the Civil War, Tubman placed her efforts to become a Union nurse and spy in the hopes of finally abolishing slavery. She covered many different tasks as a Union nurse, yet

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