Tubman, Harriet

Tubman, Harriet
orig. Arminta Ross

born с 1820, Dorchester county, Md., U.S.
died March 10, 1913, Auburn, N.Y.

U.S. abolitionist.

Born into slavery, she escaped to the North by the Underground Railroad in 1849. She made frequent trips into the South to lead over 300 slaves to freedom, despite large rewards offered for her arrest. Known as the "Moses of her people," she was admired by abolitionists such as John Brown, who called her General Tubman. In the American Civil War, she served as a nurse, laundress, and spy for Union forces in South Carolina. She later settled in Auburn, N.Y., and was eventually granted a federal pension for her war work.

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▪ American abolitionist
née  Araminta Ross  
born c. 1820, Dorchester county, Maryland, U.S.
died March 10, 1913, Auburn, New York
 American bondwoman who escaped from slavery in the South to become a leading abolitionist (abolitionism) before the American Civil War. She led hundreds of bondsmen to freedom in the North along the route of the Underground Railroad—an elaborate secret network of safe houses organized for that purpose.

      Born a slave, Araminta Ross later adopted her mother's first name, Harriet. From early childhood she worked variously as a maid, a nurse, a field hand, a cook, and a woodcutter. About 1844 she married John Tubman, a free black.

      In 1849, on the strength of rumours that she was about to be sold, Tubman fled to Philadelphia. In December 1850 she made her way to Baltimore, Maryland, whence she led her sister and two children to freedom. That journey was the first of some 19 increasingly dangerous forays into Maryland in which, over the next decade, she conducted upward of 300 fugitive slaves along the Underground Railroad to Canada. By her extraordinary courage, ingenuity, persistence, and iron discipline, which she enforced upon her charges, Tubman became the railroad's most famous conductor and was known as the “Moses of her people.” Rewards offered by slaveholders for her capture eventually totaled $40,000. Abolitionists, however, celebrated her courage. John Brown (Brown, John), who consulted her about his own plans, referred to her as “General” Tubman. About 1858 she bought a small farm near Auburn, New York, where she placed her aged parents (she had brought them out of Maryland in June 1857) and herself lived thereafter. From 1862 to 1865 she served as a scout and spy, as well as nurse and laundress, for Union forces in South Carolina.

      After the Civil War Tubman settled in Auburn and began taking in orphans and the elderly, a practice that eventuated in the Harriet Tubman Home for Indigent Aged Negroes. The home later attracted the support of former abolitionist comrades and of the citizens of Auburn, and it continued in existence for some years after her death. In the late 1860s and again in the late 1890s she applied for a federal pension for her Civil War services. Some 30 years after her service a private bill providing for $20 monthly was passed by Congress.

Additional Reading
Earl Conrad, Harriet Tubman (1943, reissued 1969).

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tubman,Harriet — Tub·man (tŭbʹmən), Harriet. 1820? 1913. Library of Congress American abolitionist. Born a slave on a Maryland plantation, she escaped to the North in 1849 and became the most renowned conductor on the Underground Railroad, leading more than 300… …   Universalium

  • Harriet Tubman — (* ca. 1820 als Araminta Ross im Dorchester County, Maryland; † 10. März 1913 in Auburn, New York) ist die bekannteste Fluchthelferin der Underground Ra …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Harriet Tubman — (née Araminta Ross en 1820 ou 1822 dans le Comté de Dorchester, Maryland, décédée le 10 mars 1913 à Auburn, État de New York). Connue aussi sous les noms de Moïse noire, Grand mère Moïse, ou encore Moïse du peuple Noir …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Harriet Tubman — circa 1885 …   Wikipedia

  • Harriet Tubman — Harriet Tubman …   Wikipedia Español

  • Harriet Tubman — noun United States abolitionist born a slave on a plantation in Maryland and became a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad leading other slaves to freedom in the North (1820 1913) • Syn: ↑Tubman • Instance Hypernyms: ↑abolitionist,… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Harriet — (as used in expressions) Martineau, Harriet Monroe, Harriet Stowe, Harriet Beecher Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Tubman, Harriet Wilson, Harriet E. Harriet E. Adams …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Harriet — /har ee euht/, n. a female given name, form of Harry. Also, Harriette, Harrietta /har ee et euh/. * * * (as used in expressions) Martineau Harriet Monroe Harriet Stowe Harriet Beecher Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Tubman Harriet Wilson Harriet E. * * …   Universalium

  • Harriet (name) — Harriet Harriet Beecher Stowe is one famous Harriet Gender Female Origin Word/Name …   Wikipedia

  • Harriet Beecher Stowe — Born Harriet Elisabeth Beecher June 14, 1811(1811 06 14) Litchfield, Connecticut, United States Died July 1, 1896( …   Wikipedia

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