Harriet Tubman Statue

Araminta Harriet Ross was born around 1820 on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. She fought her entire life to escape slavery and tried to help as many people escape as she could. Between the years of 1850 and 1860, Harriet Tubman made 19 trips from the South to the North following the Underground Railroad. She guided more than 300 people, including her parents, several siblings, and relatives, from slavery to freedom. The statue was designed by William Smith, and her finger is pointing towards the North Star.in reference to the way that conductors of the Underground Railroad were able to orient themselves while making their evening travels. The monument is located in Basin Park, near the confluence of Otter Creek and the Delaware River, about 450 feet southwest of the intersection of Mill and Radcliffe Streets.

According to Debra Michaels, “Early signs of (Harriet Tubman's) resistance to slavery and its abuses came at age twelve when she intervened to keep her master from beating an enslaved man who tried to escape. She was hit in the head with a two-pound weight, leaving her with a lifetime of severe headaches and narcolepsy.” After suffering from this traumatic experience, Araminta knew that she never wanted to be a slave ever again. 

Araminta married John Tubman in 1844 and changed her name to Harriet. Her husband was able to purchase his freedom but not that of his wife, When Harriet successfully crossed the state line into Pennsylvania, she looked down and stated, "When I found out that I had crossed the line, I looked down at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such glory over everything; the sun came like gold through the trees and over the fields, and I felt like I was in heaven." Harriet. However, after Tubman freed herself and returned home to her husband, she discovered he had remarried. Without a family, Tubman decided to free as many enslaved people as possible.

Between the years of 1850 and 1860, Harriet Tubman made 19 trips from the South to the North following the Underground Railroad. It has been estimated that she guided more than 300 people, including her parents, several siblings, and relatives, from slavery to freedom. Tubman supported a variety of antislavery efforts, including providing advice to John Brown and working as a spy for the Union during the Civil War. She also spent the later years of her life teaming up with Susan B. Anthony in their fight for women's suffrage.

John Brown called Harriet "General Tubman," a symbol of respect that was shared by other abolitionists. Tubman died of pneumonia on March 10, 1913, surrounded by her family at the age of 93.

"Harriet Tubman." Africans in America. Accessed February 12, 2020.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4p1535.html.

"Harriet Tubman Biography." A&E Television Networks, April 2, 2012.

https://www.biography.com/activist/harriet-tubman

Michals, Debra. "Harriet Tubman." National Women's History Museum. 2015.

www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/harriet-tubman.

Clinton, Catherine. The Road to Freedom. Little, Brown and Company, 2005.

Smith, David G. 2006. "Harriet Tubman: The Life and the Life Stories." Civil War History

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/recently-found-photograph-of-escaped-slave-abolitionist-and-news-photo/477456482?adppopup=true

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-harriet-tubman-residence-in-auburn-new-york-where-news-photo/827407740?adppopup=true

https://www.newyorkupstate.com/finger-lakes/2016/05/the_curious_things_people_leave_at_harriet_tubmans_grave.html

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=31308