Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland. She was one of eleven children born to Harriet Greene and Benjamin Ross. Harriet was called Araminta as a child but later adopted the name of her mother, Harriet. Harriet Tubman's childhood influenced her antislavery views and led to her great work on the Underground Railroad. Although Harriet Tubman achieved historical importance primarily in this role, she was also a spy, nurse, feminist, social reformer, if indeed these terms can adequately describe her various activities. .
Harriet had long heard of the Underground Railroad, the extraordinary way slaves escaped to free states. The slaves" flight to freedom was made possible and facilitated by the courageous men and women who believed in the right of all humans to be free from human bondage. She started her career as a conductor working as cook and domestic. She worked until she had saved enough money to provide for her needs. It was Tubman's courage, intellect, and strength of purpose that led her to become one of the greatest conductors of the Underground Railroad.
You can't talk about Harriet Tubman's heroics without revisiting the hell of her world. Harriet was put to work by the young age of five doing general housework, including service as a child's nurse and maid. After doing this work for seven years, she was put to work in the fields. The new work in the fields was much more strenuous and required a great deal of manual labor. This is where she gained muscular strength and physical endurance that set her apart from other slaves.
By 1857, she had freed all of her relatives, including her aging parents. In some 10 years of rescue, she made at least 15 trips from the North into the Southern slave states, personally escorting at least 200 slaves to freedom. All of her trips were successful, because she mastered the strategy of each of her escape plans.
