HARRIET TUBMAN

 

Harriet Tubman, who was born Araminta Ross, had a very strong spirit. Her pa, Ben, felt that Harriet's spirit would eventually lead his daughter to freedom and away from life as a slave. Little did he know that the lessons he taught little Araminta would one day lead her to become a conductor on the Underground Railroad.

     As a young girl, Harriet's mother and father told her many stories. They told her stories of Moses and how he led his people to the Promised Land. They also whispered stories about a special train without tracks, an "underground railroad" that could help her get to freedom.

     Pa felt that if his young daughter did eventually escape, she would need to know things that would help her escape successfully. Together, Harriet and her father practiced how to move about in the brush without making any noise. Her pa also taught her which plants and berries in the woods could be eaten safely. He showed Harriet how the water lily, the leaf of a crane's bill plant, and the back of hemlock could be used as medicine if she got sick or injured along the way. Her dad also taught Harriet to learn from nature such things as what sounds birds make when disturbed, which side of a tree that mold grows on, and how to tell the direction of the wind by licking her finger and sticking it up into the air.

     Probably the most important lesson Pa taught Harriet, however, was how to identify the only star that remains constant in the night sky -- the North Star. Pa told Harriet that the North Star would guide her to the North and to safety.

     Harriet was a good student. She used her dad's teachings to successfully make 19 trips to the South, bringing approximately 300 slaves -- including her mother and father, her sister, and her sister's family -- to freedom.

 

 

 

Visit the following website and take a trip on the Underground Railroad:

The Underground Railroad

 

 

 

 

HARRIET TUBMAN CYBERHUNT

 

Use each website listed to answer the questions that immediately follow it. Answer the questions.

Part A -  America's Story: Harriet Tubman at http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/activists/tubman/youth_1

1.      What was Harriet Tubman’s given name?

2.      How many brothers and sisters did she have?

3.      What happened to cause Harriet to suffer seizures for the rest of her life?

4.      What different things did Harriet Tubman do during the Civil War?

 

PART B - Spectrum Biographies: Harriet Tubman at http://www.incwell.com/Biographies/Tubman.html


1.  What made Harriet decide to leave the Brodas plantation and seek her freedom?
2.  Who is the only person she told about her plans?

 

PART C - Africans in America: Harriet Tubman at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.html

 
1. To whom did Harriet proudly say that in all her journeys she "never lost a single passenger"?
2.  When Harriet gained her freedom, which city did she settle in?
3.  Who were Harriet's first passengers on the "underground railroad"?
4.  At one time, what was the reward for the capture of Harriet Tubman?

PART D - History Channel: Harriet Tubman at http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/blackhist/0210.html

 
1.  What were two important things that kept Harriet Tubman going?

 

PART E - National Women's History Project: Harriet Tubman at http://www.nwhp.org/tlp/biographies/tubman/tubman_bio.html
Study the timeline to learn the answers to the following questions:

1.      In 1858, who did Harriet Tubman help to plan the attack on Harpers Ferry, Virginia?

2.      In which year did Harriet make the first of 19 trips to the South to help bring slaves to freedom?

 

PART F - Harriet Tubman: The Woman Called Moses at http://afroamhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa021901a.htm


1. How many people did Harriet Tubman bring to freedom?

 

 

COMPLETE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES:

 

1.  Go to the National Underground Railroad Museum site.  Design a traveler’s brochure for this museum.

2.  Use what you know about Harriet Tubman to write an imaginary interview with her. Write good questions and factual answers that reveal what you have learned about her. For example, one good question might be: During your many trips to bring slaves to freedom, you had to worry about slave catchers and their dogs hunting you. Sometimes, you had to use some cunning ideas to avoid capture. Would you share one of your most memorable escapes?

3.  Write a journal entry of at least one page from a slave’s perspective.

Your entry can be written either about a typical day on the plantation or a day during an escape. Understand that as a slave who knows how to write, you are exceptional, and if your journal were ever found, you could be in danger.

 

In your journal entry, include well-chosen details that relate a clear specific event or situation.  Also include your feelings, difficulties, and what you do to give yourself hope. Use specific details to answer questions such as these:

 

What do you do?

How long must you work?

What are the conditions of your work place?

If you escaped, how did you get away? When did you leave, at night or in the daytime?

What difficulties have you experienced and how did you deal with them?

Conclude your entry with how the day ended for you.

 

 

4. Obituary for Slavery-Read obituaries in the newspaper to become familiar with how they are written.

It is December 18, 1865. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution has just been ratified. You are a reporter for The New York Times, and your assignment is to write a front-page obituary for Slavery. Read the obituaries section of your local newspaper to determining the questions you will need to answer in your article. For example: Who was Slavery? When and where was Slavery born? Where did Slavery live and what were its accomplishments? How did Slavery die? Who are Slavery’s surviving relatives?

Visit these sites:

The Harriet Tubman Page  www.incwell.com/Biographies/Tubman.html

The Civil War  www.civilwar.com

The Underground Railroad  www.nationalgeographic.com/features/99/railroad