HARRIET TUBMAN
Born Harriet Ross, Harriet Tubman was born in 1819 to slave parents. She was raised in a typical mileu for slaves, that is, under the backdrop of inhumane living conditions, whippings (for adults and children alike), sun up to sun down back breaking labor, degradation, terrorism, torture, and sexual abuse. Her defiance in the face of an unjust system resulted in not only increased beatings, but also being labeled as mentally deficient. The plantation owners could not find any other explanation for her iron will and defiance. At the age of 12 an overseer struck Harriet in the head with a weight for refusing to tie up a runaway slave about to be whipped. This blow resulted in permanent brain damage in the form of frequent blackouts and other problems.
When Harriet was age 30 there was talk of her being sold due to financial insolvency. Harriet used this as her motivation to steel her mind for freedom which resulted in her famous quote:
"I had reasoned dis out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if i could not have one, I would have de oder; for no man should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted, adn when de time came for me to go, de Lord would let dem take me."
Harriet made her break for freedom shortly after. Earlier, Harriet had traded her prized quilt, for information on the underground railroad. She left with two of her brothers. part way into the journey, the brothers lost their will and turned back to the horrors that awaited them. Left alone she fixed her eye on the north star and found her way through the unfamiliar backwoods to freedom. Once In Pennsylvania she began working as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. As a conductor Harriet risked her life on at least 19 occasions to bring more than 300 slaves to freedom including almost all of her family and her aged parents in Maryland. A huge bounty was placed on her head, amount to over $40,000 but she was not deterred. She frequently wore disguised, either dressed as a man, or an aged woman as well as traveling at night and off roads.
to ensure success and the safe delivery of all of her charges, Harriet kept a loaded pistol in case any slaves attempted to change their minds about escaping while in route:
" The way was so toilsome over the rugged mountain passes, that often the men who followed her would give out, and foot-sore, and bleeding, they would drop on the ground, groaning that they could not take another step. They would like there and die, or if strength came back, they would return on their steps, and seek their old homes again. Then the revolver carried by this bold and daring pioneer, would come out, while pointing it at their heads she would say, 'Dead niggers tell no tales; you go on or die!' And by this heroic treatment she compelled them to drag their weary limbs along on their northward journey."
Harriet also carried a sleeping powder to administer to babies and small children, so their cries would not betray their position.
Thomas Garrett, a Quaker and Underground Railroad Station master wrote the following excerpt about the activities of Harriet Tubman:
"No slave who placed himself under her care, was ever arrested that I have heard of; she mostly had her regular stopping placed on her route; but in one instance, when she had several stout men wiht her, some 30 miles below here, she said that God told her to stop, which she did; and then asked him what she must do. He told her to leave the road, and turn to the left; she obeyed, and soon came to a small stream of tide water; there was no boat, no bridge; she again inquired of her Guide what she was to do. She was told to go through. it was cold, in the month of March; but having confidence in her Guide, she went in; the water came up to her armpits; the men refused to follow till they saw her safe on the opposit shore. They then followed, and if I mistake not, she had soon to wade a second stream; soon after which she came to a cabin of colored people, who took them all in, put them to bed, and dried out their clothes, ready to proceed next night on their journey. Harriet had run out of mone, and gave them some of her underclothing to pay for their kindness."
During the Civil war, she served as a leader of men, a strategist and spy, and was described by several union officers as one of the bravest leaders they had ever known. At one time she participated in an operation that freed over 700 slaves and destroyed millions of dollars of confederate property. She worked with Abolitionist John Brown but was unable to rendezvous with him at Harper's Ferry. and rubbed shoulders with most of the notable abolitionist of the day.
In her later years, she raised funds to establish a home for aged and destitute ex-slaves. Although she could neither read nor write, she was able to dictate her memoirs and have them made into a biography which is why much of her story is known today.
For her bravery, selflessness, resourcefulness and her direct action that resulted in over a thousand slaves being liberated, as well as the way in which she accomplished her tasks, through spiritual guidance and an unshakable integrity as well as the adversity that she overcame, Harriet Tubman is acknowledged as the quintessential icon of the Underground Railroad as well as one of the most powerful and most revered Black women in the history of the United States.
Particular to The Woozy, she put her story in writing, to ensure that her legacy, her example and her methods would be passed on to future generations and forever used as a tool in the fight for liberation in the face of inhumane oppression.