Harriet Tubman

* Reviews *

Stein creates a nice account of the life of Harriet Tubman, a woman who overcame many obstacles in order to help slaves find a way to freedom. Tubman was born a slave in Maryland in the early 1820s. She was given the name of Araminta Ross and called Minty. She was the fifth of nine children, all of whom were slaves. When she was only five years old, she was hired out to a woman known as Miss Susan. Her job was to watch Miss Susans baby. If the baby cried, Minty was beaten. After working for this unkind woman, Minty was sent home where she did household chores and walked in the forest that became her sanctuary. In 1844, she married a man named John Tubman and changed her first name to Harriet. Tubman was sad at the large number of slaves being sold to cotton-producing states in the Deep South. She did not want to be sold, so she ran away and settled in Philadelphia. In 1950, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. requiring police to arrest slaves anywhere in the country. Even though it was dangerous, Tubman returned to Maryland to help her niece and her family escape. She helped many slaves in the years to come, averaging one rescue mission a year. As she grew older, she continued to fight for the freedom of slaves, becoming the first American woman to lead men into combat as they raided plantations and freed some eight hundred slaves. Tubman also became active in the womens suffrage movement. In 1896, she bought land in Auburn, New York, so she could open a home for elderly African Americans. Harriet Tubman died on March l0, 1913. She will always be remembered for her efforts to liberate enslaved people. Black-and-white and colored illustrations are included, as well as sidebars, a chronology, chapter notes, glossary, further reading, and Internet addresses., Children's Literature