Harriet Tubman escaped slavery to become a leading abolitionist. She led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the route of the Underground Railroad.
- NAME: Harriet Tubman
- OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist
- BIRTH DATE: c. 1820
- DEATH DATE: March 10, 1913
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Dorchester County, Maryland
- PLACE OF DEATH: Auburn, New York
- Originally: Araminta Harriet Ross
- Nickname: Minty
- Nickname: Moses
- Nickname: General Tubman
Quotes:: “When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.” – Harriet Tubman
“I had crossed the line of which I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom, I was a stranger in a strange land.” – Harriet Tubman
“I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more, if only they knew they were slaves.” – Harriet Tubman
Physical violence was a part of daily life for Tubman and her family. The violence she suffered early in life caused permanent physical injuries. Harriet later recounted a particular day when she was lashed five times before breakfast. She carried the scars for the rest of her life. The most severe injury occurred when Tubman was an adolescent. Sent to a dry-goods store for supplies, she encountered a slave who had left the fields without permission. The man’s overseer demanded that Tubman help restrain the runaway. When Harriet refused, the overseer threw a two-pound weight that struck her in the head. Tubman endured seizures, severe headaches and narcoleptic episodes for the rest of her life. She also experienced intense dream states, which she classified as religious experiences…