<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type">
<title></title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
Hello Everyone:<br>
<br>
Today we want to begin looking at the pioneers in Black History. Our
first person is <b>Harriet Ross Tubman (1821-1913)</b>. Harriet was
an underground railroad conductor. Born in Dorchester County, Maryland
to slave parents who name her Araminta, Tubman later took her mother's
name, "Harriet." She suffered recurrent seizures as a result of being
struck on the head by an overseer when she went ot the defense of
another slave. She escaped in 1849 and made her way to Philadelphia
after learning that she was destined to be sold. After saving enough
money to finance her trip, she returned to rescue her sister and her
two children. It was the first of 19 trips that would bring 300 slaves
to freedom. Tubman planned her escapes for Saturday nights, knowing
that slaveowners would not be able to have wanted posters made up
before Monday. Her rules were simple: Be on time, follow
instructions; tell no one of the escape; and be prepared to die rather
than turn back. People who saw her walking along back southern roads
saw what they thought was an harmless old woman wandering along singing
songs. But the lyrics were a code alerting slaves to her presence, and
Harriet Tubman was anything but harmless. She usually carried a gun.
Slaveowners considered her extremely dangerous and put a $40,000 price
on her head. Called "The Moses of Her People," Tubman worked closely
with William Still and was a friend of Frederick Douglass. She
conferred with John Brown, though sickness prevented her from
participating in the 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry. That same year, she
endured physical assault to rescue a runaway slave names Charles Nalle
from police custody and helped him escape to Canada. During the Civil
War, she planned and led a raid that freed 750 slaves. She also worked
for the army as a spy, scout, and nurse. Afterward, Tubman attempted
to establish schools for freedmen in North Carolina and later founded a
home for destitute former slaves who were too old and feeble to work.
In 1978, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in her honor.<br>
<br>
<br>
</body>
</html>