Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom

2004

Central E444 T82 CM19; Every effort has been made to trace copyright ownership and to obtain permission for reproduction. If you believe you are the copyright owner of an item on this site, and we have not requested your permission, please contact us at special.collections@otago.ac.nz

Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown and Co.

Born into slavery, Harriet Tubman’s first act of rebellion was to run away from her owner in 1849. Called the ‘Moses’ of her people, Tubman (c. 1820-1913) was the only woman, and the only black, who became a conductor on the Underground Railroad, She led about 70 slaves, in a dozen or so raids, to their freedom in the north of America. Tubman went on to become a cook, nurse, scout, and spy for the Union Army in the American Civil War (1861-65), and the only woman to lead a troop of some 300 men. After the end of the Civil War, and the emancipation of all slaves, Tubman continued her fight for racial justice. She also campaigned for women’s right to vote. In 2016, the Treasury of the United States of America announced that Tubman would feature on the $20 bill.