Harriet Tubman

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• Do you know what an abolitionist is?

An abolitionist is a person who works to end slavery.

Throughout this series of Related Lessons, Famous Abolitionists, you will learn about a few people who helped free slaves and end slavery in the 1800s. The work of the people you will learn about is important in the history of the United States because it ensured no man would ever be enslaved to another man again.

During this lesson, you will learn about the most famous female abolitionist, Harriet Tubman.

Before you get started, write down anything you already know about Tubman. As you review the information in this section, be sure to write down any important facts you see. You will be able to use the notes you take to help you with the activities in the Got It? and Go! sections.

Harriet Tubman was born on a slave plantation, or large estate where crops are grown, in Maryland. Since birth records were not kept for slaves, historians are uncertain exactly when Tubman was born, but they believe she was born around 1820.

As a slave, Tubman was forced to perform a number of jobs, including taking care of babies and children for the families she worked for, plowing fields, lifting and moving heavy objects, and driving oxen. She was not treated kindly by the families that owned her.

As a child, she was separated from her family so she could go work for another white family. When she was a teenager, she was hit in the head by an iron weight. A slave owner had thrown the weight at another slave, but it hit Tubman instead.

Although she survived the injury, she was permanently disabled and suffered from blackouts for the remainder of her life.

When Tubman was about 30 years old, she attempted to run away to the North where slavery was outlawed. She escaped using the Underground Railroad.

• Do you know what the Underground Railroad was?

The Underground Railroad had nothing to do with trains. Rather, it was a series of safe houses that hid slaves as they traveled North.

It was called the Underground Railroad because it was used in secret and railway terms were used by the people who used it to secretly describe how it worked. Typically, slaves would move when it was dark and hide in safe houses during the day.

After Tubman escaped from slavery, she wanted to help others do the same. She became a conductor on the Underground Railroad. A conductor was a nickname given to people who helped guide slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

Tubman led 19 groups of slaves to freedom. She was given the nickname Moses. In the Bible, Moses was a person who led many enslaved Israelites to freedom.

During her time as a conductor, Tubman never lost a single slave and was never captured. She was so successful, slave owners issued a $40,000 reward for anyone who could catch her.

Tubman’s work did not end with the Underground Railroad. When the Civil War began in 1861, Tubman continued to help other slaves find freedom by supporting the Union army. She worked as a nurse, helping to take care of wounded soldiers.

She even worked as a spy for the Union army and was one of the first women in American history to lead a military expedition. During her expedition, she worked with a Union officer to raid a plantation in South Carolina. During the raid, nearly 750 slaves were freed.

After the Civil War, Tubman continued to help African Americans.

She moved to New York and took care of her family, who she had helped escape from slavery. She turned her home into the Home for Indigent and Aged Negroes, which was used to take care of elderly and disabled African Americans.

She wrote an autobiography and frequently gave speeches. All the money she earned was used to maintain the Home for Indigent and Aged Negroes.

Tubman died in 1913. Throughout her life, she never stopped helping others and fighting to ensure all people were given equal rights.

To continue learning about Harriet Tubman as you watch the following video. As you watch, continue adding to your list of notes.

As you can see, Tubman was a person who dedicated her life to helping others.

• How was Harriet Tubman an abolitionist?
• How did Tubman’s work play a role in ending slavery in the United States?
• What do you think is Tubman’s biggest accomplishment?

When you are ready, move on to the Got It? section. Remember to keep your notes with you because you will use them to help with a research project.