Harriet Tubman: Symbol of Hope for Underground Railroad - Essay Sample

Introduction

Harriet Tubman was a symbol of hope to the underground railroad in overcoming slavery. Harriet Green gave birth to Tubman during the slave period in a plantation at a place called Maryland (Porter and Diana 259). Her parents named her Araminta Ross, but she soon changed it to Harriet to honor her mother. Harriet Tubman started working as a slave at a young age of five years. She had the duty of taking care of a baby as a nursemaid and received a punishment such as beatings whenever the baby cries. In the year 1844, Harriet got married to John Tubman; hence, she adopted her husband's last name (Porter and Diana 259). She learned about the underground railway when she wanted to escape from slavery. Harriet Tubman assisted the underground railroad by making the connection become a symbol of hope, and facilitated its expansion. Harriet facilitated the underground network's progress more than the creators of the railroad.

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Main Argument

Symbol of Hope. Harriet Tubman made the underground railway to become a symbol of hope for a better tomorrow for captives in the USA. She acted as a conductor since she led the way for people to Pennsylvania. She encouraged her relatives and friends to earn their freedom by taking the risk. The journey was around 60 km, which made about two to three weeks hence tiresome and dangerous (Porter and Diana 64). Harriet became Moses of the people since she wanted people to have better lives and free from emotional and physical tortures that she experienced during her time as a slave. A slave overseer threw a weight on her head, which made her suffer from symptoms such as hallucinations and headaches. States found in the north believed that black lives were meaningful; hence, they provided escapees with resources and job opportunities once they arrived in the region. As more slaves became aware of the underground railroad, it provided them with the hope that they could have healthy lives and make a difference in the community.

Expansion of Underground Railroad

Harriet Tubman expanded the routes of the underground railway to allow individuals to go to Canadian territories. After the establishment of the fugitive slave act in 1850, slaves were not safe in Philadelphia (Porter and Diana 259). It is because the regulation allowed slave owners to capture slaves within Philadelphia after they run away. She had to employ the use of various strategies such as they traveled at night, during seasons such as fall when days are shorter than nights, armed herself with a gun, and drugged children to minimize cry sounds. She also carried a weapon to threaten the slaves when they become too tired or decide to go back to the colonies. It is because the first attempt to escape her owner's plantation in Maryland, her brothers changed their minds in the middle of the journey, which made her waste a lot of time. It is because she had to return her brothers to the colony safely. Harriet knew that the journey was long and tiring, which can cause people to change their minds and make wrong decisions. Tubman preferred to escort slaves to the north during the weekend since it gave them time to travel far away before the publication of newspapers on Monday. It is because the writings made people aware of the situation and allocated rewards. It helped Harriet to rescue more people from bondage and never lost individuals during the journey. She assisted her relatives, such as parents, nieces, and brothers, to move to non-slavery territory. Canada believed in the need for equality since the nation did not enslave people from the black community. It encouraged more people to try to move into Canadian territories. It is important to note that most members of the underground railroad worked in Canada to smoothen the underground network.

Objection

Created Animosity Between Slave Holders and The Northerners. Harriet Tubman efforts created an animosity between the slaveholders from the south and northerners who thought that slavery was against human rights. The growth and expansion of the underground railroad was a factor that contributed to the increase in the civil war. It encouraged the establishment and development of fugitive movements. As a result, the slaveholders hated the northerners who were aiding the slaves into freedom. People who escaped from the colonies were the cause of the development of the civil war (Crew and Spencer 1). It is because the individuals provided information about the oppression and tortures that they experienced during their time in slavery. It encouraged the anti-slavery communities to want to rescue the promising lives of black people. It led to the establishment of the civil war, which was a disagreement between colonizers and anti-slavery communities (Stabler & Albert 567). Most of the individuals who ran away from captivity joined the underground railroad team which was against the slaveholders.

Reply

Despite the animosity between slave holders from the south and the northerners, Harriet Tubman made a difference in the slave community since she was the first person to make around 19 trips from colonies to the north without getting caught or losing a slave (Taylor and Amy 89). It was a difficult task since they had to hide away from oppressors at all times. Her actions made the underground network well-known and earned the respect of abolitionists-such as Frederick Douglas. Slave owners became angry at the increase of slaves freeing from plantations that they placed a reward worth 40,000 dollars for any person who could capture Harriet and created the criminal act (Taylor and Amy 89). She showed her devotion to her mission since she helped people to move through the hidden routes for 11 years (Towns and Armond 184). Harriet's achievement of not getting caught during that period gave the hidden railroad a better reputation within the black communities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Tubman efforts were a symbol of hope to the slaves held captive in the south. Harriet Tubman was a prominent person in the USA since she promoted the end of the slavery era. It is because they established routes and strategies to ensure that slaves could travel without detection. For instance, the constant use of boats and abandoned roads. The channels allowed people to escape from plantations in areas such as Virginia and Kentucky into the northern states. The underground railroad system had members such as conductors and soldiers who ensured the travelers' safety. It remained a secret network since the conductors could only reach a certain point of the journey. Despite the resulting conflict between the northerners and slave holders, Tubman actions engineered the journey to end slavery which was against human rights. Harriet was a selfless person who cared about other people's welfares hence took roles during the war and acted as a conductor to take captives safely to the north or Canada. Harriet Tubman was one of the people who made the black community to gain respect and equal rights in the entire nation (Towns and Armond 184).

References

Crew, Spencer. "Underground Railroad." The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism (2015): 1-3.Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118663202.wberen563

Porter, Diana. "Before She Was Harriet." Language Arts 96.4 (2019): 259-264.Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/openview/14de8a7bc199cf4728115d6df07cf574/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=41436

Porter, Diana. "Before She Was Harriet." Journal of Children's Literature 44.2 (2018): 64-64. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/openview/3f9476ce694ae7ec8b56cf89db36bf64/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1356370

Stabler, Albert. "A fluid frontier: slavery, resistance, and the underground railroad in the Detroit river borderland." (2017): 567-569.Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01419870.2016.1229495

Taylor, Amy Murrell. "Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad: The Geography of Resistance." (2015): 89-91. Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24641243

Towns, Armond R. "Rebels of the underground: Media, orality, and the routes of black emancipation." Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies 13.2 (2016): 184-197.Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14791420.2015.1119292