Few people have made such a powerful imprint on American history as Harriet Tubman did. A former enslaved person, Tubman became an abolitionist, humanitarian and leader of the Underground Railroad, which may have helped free more than 100,000 people during the antebellum period.
This bio explores Tubman’s early life in slavery, her escape to freedom and how she helped guide others to safety. You’ll also learn about her contributions as a Union spy during the Civil War, as well as other facts about Harriet Tubman.
Harriet Tubman’s early life
Born into the institution of slavery, Harriet Tubman experienced various hardships during her childhood. Despite this, she would later devote her life to compassion and equality.
Birth and context of slavery in Maryland
Araminta Ross was born in Dorchester County, Maryland, around 1820. She later adopted her mother’s first name, Harriet. When she was around 5 years old, Tubman was forced to work as a nursemaid and later as a field hand, cook and woodcutter.
Tubman had eight brothers and sisters. However, slavery kept many of them apart.
Slavery in Maryland has a long history, starting in 1642 with the importation of slaves and ending in 1864. In the 1660s, less than 25% of the state’s bound laborers were enslaved Africans. This number increased to 33% by 1680 and around 75% by the early 1700s. In the final decades of the 1700s, 44% of the 46,547 enslaved people in Maryland lived in groups of more than 20 people in the Tidewater counties.
Early experiences and influences on Tubman
When Tubman was 12, she saw an overseer (someone who oversaw the daily work of those enslaved) about to punish another enslaved person. When she tried to stop the situation, the overseer struck her head with a heavy weight.
Tubman later said:
“The weight broke my skull … They carried me to the house, all bleeding and fainting. I had no bed, no place to lie down on at all, and they laid me on the seat of the loom, and I stayed there all day and the next.”
In around 1844, she married John Tubman, a free Black man. However, the marriage later broke down.
The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a pre-Civil War system in the Northern United States that enabled enslaved people to escape from the South. Sympathetic Northerners who disagreed with the Fugitive Slave Act, which required “fugitive slaves” to return to their enslavers, helped those people reach a place of safety. Although not a physical railroad, the system consisted of different routes that extended from the South to 14 Northern states and Canada.
On September 17, 1849, Tubman and two of her brothers escaped the plantation where they were enslaved. However, her brothers changed their minds and returned. The Underground Railroad helped Harriet escape to Pennsylvania, where she found work as a housekeeper.
Tubman’s role as a conductor
Tubman didn’t want to live free on her own, so she also tried to help her friends and family escape. First, she led her niece and niece’s children to Philadelphia through the Underground Railroad. Then, she made several dangerous trips back to Maryland over the next decade, eventually helping around 70 enslaved people escape.
This is an important moment in Harriet Tubman’s story, with Britannica saying:
“Tubman displayed extraordinary courage, persistence and iron discipline, which she enforced upon her charges. If anyone decided to turn back — thereby endangering the mission — she reportedly threatened them with a gun and said, ‘You’ll be free or die.’ She also was inventive, devising various strategies to better ensure success. One such example was escaping on Saturday nights since it would not appear in newspapers until Monday.”
Tubman became known as the “Moses of her people.”
Methods used to guide enslaved people to freedom
Tubman was known as a “conductor” in the Underground Railroad system — someone who might enter a plantation, pose as an enslaved person and help people escape. Enslaved people would normally leave plantations at night and travel to different safe locations before getting to their final destination.
Sometimes, conductors would travel with enslaved people by train or boat. Enslaved people often wore disguises to avoid suspicion.
The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act allowed escaped enslaved people to be captured and enslaved again, which made Tubman’s role as a conductor more difficult. She led enslaved people further north to Canada, often in the spring or fall when the days were shorter.
Tubman also received support from famous people who supported the abolition of slavery, including Harriet Beecher Stowe andJohn Brown, who planned a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
The network of safe houses and allies
Conductors like Tubman would guide enslaved people to several safe houses or “stations” along the Underground Railroad, which provided protection, food and a place to sleep. These locations included barns and churches owned by abolitionists and their allies.
Several national preservation programs are documenting safe houses and other sites associated with the Underground Railroad.
Contributions during the Civil War
After the Civil War started in 1861, Tubman continued her fight for freedom. She helped injured enslaved people as a nurse and later became a spy for the Union Army.
Roles as a nurse and scout
Tubman was a nurse, cook and laundress during the Civil War. She used her knowledge of herbal medicines to treat injured soldiers and escaped enslaved people at Fort Monroe, a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia.
She also became an organizer and leader of scouts — people who gathered intelligence about enemy locations during the Civil War — in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
The U.S. Army says:
“Harriet and her scouts provided valuable intelligence to the newly-formed black regiments, providing, for example, vulnerabilities and locations of Confederate sentinels.”
This intelligence helped free enslaved people to form Black Union regiments.
Tubman’s espionage work for the Union Army
In 1863, Tubman became the first woman in U.S. history to command an armed military raid. As a scout and spy, she guided Col. James Montgomery and his unit along the Combahee River to route Confederate outposts, destroying food, weapons and cotton and freeing more than 750 enslaved people. She also worked with General David Hunter.
Brandeis University says:
“Newspapers from Boston to Wisconsin reported on the river assault by Montgomery and his Black regiment, noting Tubman’s important role as the ‘Black she Moses … who led the raid, and under whose inspiration it was originated and conducted.’”
Harriet Tubman was posthumously named a general in a Veterans Day ceremony in 2024, with Gov. Wes Moore calling the occasion a great day for all of the U.S.:
“Today, we celebrate a soldier and a person who earned the title of veteran. Today, we celebrate one of the greatest authors of the American story.”
Advocacy for women’s rights
After the Civil War, Tubman relocated to Auburn, Alabama, where she looked after orphans and older adults. She also became active in the women’s suffrage movement and championed gender equality.
Involvement in suffrage movements
Tubman took part in various women’s suffrage conventions organized by Black and white women. She supported the National Women’s Suffrage Association of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, which opposed the Fifteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that granted the vote to Black men but not women.
The League of Women Voters of Oxford says:
“Tubman believed in the equality of all people — black or white, male or female. She was a strong supporter of women’s voting rights, giving speeches on women’s suffrage in New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. Tubman shared her experiences of suffering in the war and railroad movement in order to prove that women are equal to men. By all accounts, she was a dynamic speaker and storyteller.”
Speeches and writings promoting gender equality
Like many enslaved people, Tubman had no formal education and couldn’t read or write. However, she gave several speeches during her later years about fighting for equal rights.
One of the most famous Harriet Tubman quotes about gender equality is:
“[If my services] do not place woman as man’s equal, what do?”
In 2021, a family book, “Beyond the Underground: Aunt Harriet, Moses of Her People,” offered personal accounts of Tubman’s life.
Recognition and legacy
Tubman is an American icon, famous for being a freedom fighter who helped get enslaved people to safety. As a result of her legacy, a new $20 bill will feature a design with her likeness. When this happens, Tubman will become the first woman and first African-American person on U.S. paper currency.
Commemorative parks and monuments
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park is a national historical park in Church Creek, Maryland, that opened in 2013. It honors Tubman, her dedication to freedom and her contribution to the Underground Railroad. The visitor center commemorates Tubman’s life and legacy, featuring various exhibits that illustrate her childhood and rescue missions.
A 13-foot monument to Tubman, created by Alison Saar, stands in the Harriet Tubman Memorial Plaza in Harlem. Saar characterizes Tubman “not as the conductor of the Underground Railroad, but as the train itself, an unstoppable locomotive.”
Artistic representations of Tubman’s life
Tubman has been featured in many paintings and other artwork throughout the years. “Harriet Tubman” by Harlem Renaissance painter Aaron Douglas depicts her breaking the shackles of bondage and features figures that represent enslavement and freedom. The piece is currently on display at The North Carolina Museum of Art.
William H. Johnson’s “Harriet Tubman,” displayed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, shows Tubman wearing a striped Civil War-era dress and holding a shotgun by her side. In the lower right of the painting, Tubman appears as an older woman wearing the shawl gifted to her by Queen Victoria.
Tubman’s impact on civil rights and modern activism
Tubman’s struggles still resonate with activists and civil rights leaders today, with the 2019 Harriet Tubman movie starring Cynthia Erivo introducing her to new audiences.
Influence on future generations of activists
Because of her unwavering activism, Tubman’s impact can still be felt around the world.
Black History Month UK says:
“Harriet Tubman’s life story is a powerful example of courage, determination and resilience in the face of adversity. Her legacy continues to inspire people today to stand up for what is right, fight for justice and never give up in the face of challenges.”
Legacy in ongoing struggles for human rights
In 1886, Tubman co-founded the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (NACWC) to advocate for equality and suffrage for African-American women. The organization still operates today and focuses on social justice, education, health and economic empowerment through collective action.
The Harriet Tubman Foundation for Safe Passage provides advocacy, support and resources for those in need. It works with various organizations that promote human rights, equity and community.
Harriet Tubman FAQs
How many times did Harriet Tubman get caught?
Tubman was never caught during her many missions. Over a decade, she helped around 70 enslaved people escape from plantations and other locations in Maryland, making her one of the most well-known conductors of the Underground Railroad system.
When were Harriet Tubman’s last words?
In 1913, Tubman died of pneumonia and was buried at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York. She was 91 years old. Her final words were, “I’ll go away to prepare a place for you that where I am you also may be.” This is a reference to the Bible verse John 14:3.
What happened to Harriet Tubman at the age of 12?
Tubman saw an overseer about to punish another enslaved person and stepped in to diffuse the situation. The overseer struck her head with a heavy weight, which broke her skull.
What was Harriet Tubman’s real name?
Araminta Ross was Tubman’s real name. She later adopted her mother’s first name, Harriet.
