Harriet Tubman

Hello there! My name is Harriet Tubman, but I was born with a different name: Araminta Ross. I was born around 1822 in Maryland, a long, long time ago. As a little girl, I didn't go to school. Instead, I worked very hard under the hot sun on a big farm. It was a difficult time because I was enslaved, which meant I wasn't free to make my own choices. I loved being outdoors, though. I learned all about the woods, the stars, and the secret paths birds took when they flew north. One day, I was hurt very badly, and after that, I would sometimes fall into a deep sleep. In those sleeps, I had the most amazing dreams that I could fly away to freedom. Those dreams felt so real, and they planted a tiny seed of hope in my heart: a hope that one day, I would be free, just like the birds in the sky.

When I grew up, that little seed of hope had turned into a giant, strong tree! In 1849, I decided it was time. I was going to be free. It was scary, but I followed the North Star, just like my father had taught me. I walked for many, many nights through dark woods and across rushing rivers. When I finally crossed the line into Pennsylvania, a free state, I felt like I was in a whole new world. The sun felt warmer, and the air smelled sweeter. It was at that moment I chose a new name for my new life: Harriet Tubman. But I couldn't be happy all by myself. I kept thinking about my family—my mother, my father, my brothers and sisters—who were still not free. I knew I had to go back. I became a 'conductor' on something called the Underground Railroad. It wasn't a real train, but a secret path with kind people who would help people like me find their way to freedom. I would use quiet songs to send secret messages, and I always told my passengers, 'Keep going. Never turn back.'

I made that dangerous trip back to the South not just once, but about 13 times! I helped so many people, including my own family, find their way to freedom. They started calling me 'Moses' after a brave leader in the Bible. My work didn't stop there. When the big Civil War started, a war to end slavery for good, I became a nurse and even a spy for the Union army! I helped lead a mission that freed over 700 people all at once. After the war, and after all enslaved people were finally free, I moved to a town called Auburn in New York. I spent the rest of my life caring for people who were old or sick. I passed away on March 10th, 1913, but my story lives on. I want you to remember that even if you feel small or scared, you have a strength inside you to help others and to fight for what is right. Every single person deserves to be free.