I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew that they were slaves." Harriet Tubman was one of the most interesting characters in our nation's history because of her strong desire for freedom despite the tremendous obstacles in her life. She selflessly went on to fulfill the dream of freedom for countless others. Due to her up-bring, character traits, and accomplishments in her life, she became the famous "Moses" of the Underground Railroad.
Araminta Ross, also known as Harriett Tubman, was born in Maryland around 1920 to slaves Harriett and Benjamin Tubman. As a small child, Araminta was hired as a nursemaid to tend to a small child. If the child were not taken care of properly, the mother would whip Araminta and deny her of food. As the slave grew older, she was moved from different slave owners to do manual labor of different types. As she was working for one slave owner, he wanted Araminta to help perform a punishment for another slave and she refused. As the cursed slave ran, his owner picked up an iron weight and threw it at the slave. The weight missed the slave and instead hit Araminta in the head causing her to have seizures and blackouts for the rest of her life. Soon after she recovered from her illness, she married a free black man, John Tubman. She took on the last name of John Tubman and soon changed her name from Araminta to Harriet. .
Harriet worked long hours, everyday out in the fields. She may have been a tiny lady, but she was mighty in her physical power. .
Driving oxen around the field and chopping trees down proves that this lady was a force to be reckon with. Her determination to be free and to free other slaves came from the embarrassment of whippings, love of her family and pure will power. The courage it took to escape by herself says a lot about her character. To leave in the middle of the night and find a safe house took courage. Thankfully, there were people against slavery that willingly help Harriet get to the free states and continued to help her free almost three hundred slaves during her lifetime.
