It is very difficult to assign Tubman to a specific group. The slave liberation network was heterogeneous and lacked a stable hierarchy and organisation. The ways and routes of escape were transmitted by word of mouth and in the most absolute secrecy. However, she is connected to other abolitionist women who defended women's rights in the 19th century, such as Sojourner Truth, Lydia Child and Maria Weston Chapman. It is important to mention the Declaration of Sentiments of 1848 about women's rights, the main representatives of which were Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who started their fight with anti-slavery and abolitionist campaigns. In the 20th century, Rosa Parks, Valdecir Nascimento, Angela Davis and Bell Hooks were, or still are, feminists and activists against the existing racism in North American society.
Harriet Tubman
(Moses)
Dorchester, Maryland, USA, c. 1820 — Auburn, New York, USA, 10-03-1913
Period of activity: 1840 — 1908
Geographical classification: America > United States
Socio-cultural movements
Late modern period / Contemporary period > Feminism > Suffragism
Late modern period / Contemporary period > Socio-political movements > Postcolonialism
Late modern period / Contemporary period > Socio-political movements > Civil rights movements
* Multi-secular movements > Antislavery
Groups by dedication
Activists > Feminists (activists)
Activists > Abolitionists
Activists > Suffragettes / Suffragists
Professionals / Other groups > Slaves
Context of feminine creation
Review
She was born in Maryland, between 1820 and 1830. She devoted her life to fighting for the freedom of the black population, first as a slave and then as a fugitive in the North. She was an active participant in the liberation of slaves through a network known as Underground Railroad, which she might have used herself to escape. Afterwards, she collaborated with the unionist side during the North American Civil War. In the 1880s and 1890s, she joined the National Federation of African-American Women.
Activities
Justifications
Biography
The exact date of her birth remains unknown, but it is estimated that she was born in the 1820s, in Maryland. She was the daughter of Benjamin Ross and Harriet Green, both slaves, although her father achieved freedom before her mother did. Harriet Tubman, known as Araminta Ross during her years as a slave, showed her determination to keep her family together from a young age, probably triggered by the fact that her two sisters were sold when she was little. In her childhood and her teenage years, she served many white-owned homes. Her masters inflicted her strict punishments. Besides, she suffered a serious brain injury after an overseer threw a rock at her.
In 1844, she married John Tubman, a free Black man, while she continued to be a slave. Her master's death in 1849 made her fear being sent to a slave property in the South as a payment. That was what made her decide to escape. The circumstances remain unknown, but that same year she reached Philadelphia, where she found a job and got in touch with the anti-slavery movement. The Underground Railroad became interested in her after hearing that she had planned her own escape and decided to recruit her. A year after her escape, she set forth on her first trip to Maryland, and successfully freed her niece and two children. In 1851, she came back to rescue one of her brothers and two other men. Her father, Benjamin Ross, also collaborated in the liberation of two or three of her siblings in 1854. In the end, she managed to move her elderly parents to Canada, between 1857 and 1858. It is thought that by 1860, she had already made 8 or 9 successful trips to Maryland, freeing around 20 slaves.
After the outbreak of the American Civil War, Tubman got involved in the anti-slavery movement to try to fight the dangers that threatened the cause. She worked as a cook, a food and clothes supplier, a nurse, etc. However, her fame as a slave-liberator turned her into a key figure in the espionage task; she was the one in charge of attracting allies and directing a team of spies. Thanks to this work, the unionist side was successful in the Combahee River Raid, where they freed around 800 slaves.
On the other hand, her involvement in the movement for the defence of women's rights precedes the war, although her main focus was achieving social change through a local community that she created after the war. She was considered a hero and the "mother" of the National Federation of African-American Women, an institution that invited her to give speeches and participate in their meetings.
Fame accompanied her in her old age: many people interviewed her and wrote articles about her, trying to extol her. However, this glory did not translate in a good financial situation. Her purchasing power was undermined and she had financial problems. There was a sort of moral obligation towards her that pressured people into making donations to support her. The admiration for this old woman, with a hectic life and admirable courage, accompanied her until her death on March 10, 1913.
Works
She was object of many interviews about her life that later on were used to write her biography. However, Harriet did not write anything herself. Her intention was to dedicate her life to direct action, and she considered her memoirs a secondary task.
Bibliography
Clinton, Catherine (2005). Harriet Tubman. The road to freedom. New York: Back Bay.
Clifford, Kate (2004). Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero. New York: One World.
Humez, Jean M (2002). Harriet Tubman. The Life and the Life Stories. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press.
Petry, Ann (1971). Harriet Tubman. Conductor on the underground railroad. New York: Pocket Books.
Didactic approach
She is linked to 4th of ESO, in history, when explaining liberal revolutions, the American Civil War and the American Revolutionary War. The unifying thread continues with the emergence and expansion of Imperialism, upon which the slavery system built one of the great financial basis (the benefits obtained for centuries) that allowed for the consolidation of European powers. The high profitability of the slave trade explains the great success and approval of a large part of the white population. Finally, she also connects directly to the incipient struggle for women's suffrage and equality between men and women in the United States and the rest of the West.
Ethical values throughout ESO, especially in 3rd and 4th grades. Slavery, freedom, equality and the guarantee of human rights could be addressed through comparative debates.
It is possible to work in Secondary Education for Adults, Module IV Social.