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VOICE ONE:
I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Ray Freeman with the Special English program, People InAmerica. Every week we tell the story of someone important in thehistory of the United States. Today we tell about Harriet Tubman, anAfrican American woman who fought slavery and oppression.
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VOICE ONE:
Historians say Harriet Tubman was born in the yearEighteen-Twenty. Nobody really knows. In the United States in theNineteenth Century the birth of slaves was not recorded.
We do know that Harriet Tubman was one of the bravest women everborn in the United States. She helped hundreds of people escape fromslavery on the Underground Railroad. This was a system that helpedslaves escape from the South to states where slavery was banned.
Because of her work on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubmanwas called Moses. In the Bible, Moses was the leader of the Jewishpeople enslaved in Egypt. He brought his people out of slavery tothe promised land. Harriet Tubman died in Nineteen-Thirteen. All herlife, she always tried to improve life for African Americans.
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VOICE TWO:
From a very early age, Harriet knew how slaves suffered. Herparents were slaves. They belonged to Edward Brodas, a farmer in themiddle Atlantic state of Maryland. Harriet’s parents tried toprotect her and their ten other children as much as they could.There was little they could do, however. Slaves were treated likeanimals. They could be sold at any time. Families often wereseparated. Slave children were not permitted to act like children.By the time Harriet was three years old, Mister Brodas ordered herto carry notes from him to other farmers. Some of these farmerslived as far as fifteen kilometers away. Harriet was punished if shestopped to rest or play.
VOICE ONE:
When Harriet was six years old, the Brodas family sent her towork for another family who lived near their farm. While there,Harriet was infected with the disease measles. Even though she wassick, she was forced to place and remove animal traps in an icyriver. She was sent home when she became dangerously ill. Harriet’smother took very good care of her. The child survived. Then she wassent to work in the Brodas’s house. Her owners never gave her enoughto eat. One day she was working in the kitchen. She was looking at apiece of sugar in a silver container when Missus Brodas saw her.Harriet ran away in fear. She was caught and beaten very severely.Her owners decided that Harriet never would make a good worker inthe house. She was sent to the fields.
VOICE TWO:
Harriet’s parents were sad. Theyworked in the fields and they knew how difficult it was to survivethe hard work. But working outside made Harriet’s body strong. Andshe began to learn things from the other slaves. These things oneday would help her lead her people to freedom. Harriet heard aboutNat Turner. He had led an unsuccessful rebellion of slaves. Sheheard about other slaves who had run away from their cruel owners.She was told that they had traveled by the Underground Railroad.They did not escape by using a special train. Instead of a realtrain, the Underground Railroad was a series of hiding places,usually in houses of people who opposed slavery. These were secretplaces that African Americans could stop at as they escaped from theSouth to the North. As Harriet heard stories of rebellion, shebecame more of a rebel.
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VOICE ONE:
One day when Harriet was fifteen she was at a local store. Aslave owner entered and threatened a young boy who was his slave. Atfirst, the slave refused to move. Then he ran for the door. Harrietmoved in front of the young man. The slave owner reached for a heavyweight. He threw it at his slave. He missed. Instead, the heavymetal object hit Harriet in the head. Harriet almost died. Monthspassed before she could get out of bed. For the rest of her life,she carried the mark of a deep wound on her head. And she sufferedfrom blackouts. She would suddenly lose consciousness as though shehad fallen asleep.
VOICE TWO:
Mister Brodas felt he would never get any good work out ofHarriet. So he decided to sell her. Harriet thought of a way toprevent this. Each time she was shown to someone who might buy her,she acted as if she were falling asleep. After a while, MisterBrodas gave up hope of selling Harriet. He sent her back to thefields. She dreamed of freedom while picking vegetables and diggingin the fields. In Eighteen Forty-Four, at about age twenty-four, shemarried a free black man named John Tubman. By now, Harriet was sureshe wanted to try to escape. It would be very dangerous. Slaves whowere caught often were killed or almost beaten to death. Harrietknew she must wait for just the right time.
VOICE ONE:
Suddenly, in Eighteen-Forty-Nine, the time came. Mister Brodasdied. His slaves probably would be sold to cotton farmers furtherSouth. The situation there would be even worse. John Tubman tried tomake Harriet forget about running away. He was free. Why should hemake a dangerous trip with a woman breaking the law? Harriet decidedthat her marriage to John must end. Harriet heard that she was to besold immediately. She knew she needed to tell her family that shewas leaving. She began to sing, softly at first, then louder. Shesang the words, “I’m sorry to leave you…I’m going to the promisedland.” Her family understood.
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VOICE TWO:
Harriet ran to the home of a whitewoman who had promised to help. This woman belonged to the Quakers,a religious group which hated slavery. The Quaker woman told her howto reach another home where she could hide. Harriet went from houseto house that way on the Underground Railroad. Each place was alittle closer to the eastern state of Pennsylvania. Slavery wasbanned there. Once she was hidden under hay that had been cut fromthe fields. Another time, she wore men’s clothing. Finally, shecrossed the border into Pennsylvania. Later, she told a friend, “Ifelt like I was in heaven.”
VOICE ONE:
Now that Harriet was free, she did not forget the hundreds ofother slaves back in Maryland. During the next ten years, she led amuch expanded Underground Railroad. She freed her parents, hersister, brothers and other family members. She found a home for herparents in Auburn, New York. Harriet traveled back and fortheighteen times, helping about three-hundred slaves escape into freeterritory. She became an expert at hiding from slave hunters. At onetime, anyone finding Harriet was promised forty-thousand dollars forcatching her — dead or alive. The people she helped called herMoses. She had rescued them from slavery just as the biblical Mosesrescued the Jews. Harriet found another way to fight slavery afterthe Civil War began in Eighteen-Sixty-One. Seven southern statesdecided to separate from the United States, mainly over the issue ofslavery. The northern states refused to let the United States ofAmerica break apart. After fighting began, Harriet Tubman went intoenemy territory to spy for the North. She also served as a nurse.After four years of bloody fighting, the North won the war.President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in Eighteen-Sixty-Three.There was no longer any need for Harriet to be Moses.
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VOICE TWO:
After the fighting ended, Harriet Tubman returned to Auburn, NewYork. She married a man named Nelson Davis. This could have been thebeginning of a few quiet years of family life for her. But she keptworking. She traveled and gave speeches to raise money for bettereducation for black children. She also worked for women’s rights andhousing. And she sought help for old men and women who had beenslaves. Harriet Tubman died in Nineteen-Thirteen. She was aboutninety-three years old. By that time, she was recognized as anAmerican hero. The United States government gave a funeral withmilitary honors for the woman known as Moses. (THEME)
VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Jeri Watson. I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
I’m Ray Freeman. Listen again next week at this time for anotherPEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.