Harriet Tubman

A very important figure during reform era was Harriet Tubman. Tubman was a slave from a young age and was continuously beaten and whipped by her masters. During her time as a slave Tubman was accidentally hit in the head with a piece of metal and suffered serious head trauma which lead to major health problems throughout her life. Tubman served as a cook, nurse, army scout, spy, and humanitarian, however, what she was most known for was helping slaves escape their owners. Tubman would travel late in the night on a secret route where she would help dozens of slaves escape to freedom. Along this secret route where safehouses and secret hiding places that would ensure the safety of the slaves trying to get to freedom. During the 1860's Tubman joined the Northern abolitionists(Harriet). In 1863 she became the first woman to command an armed military raid where she destroyed cotton, food and liberated over 700 slaves (Harriet). Tubman lived a long life living until 91 years of age. Tubman left a huge impact on American culture and without women/people like Harriet Tubman the world would not be what it is today.




Her Escape to Freedom

Tubman was given a piece of paper by a white neighbor with two names, and told how to find the first house on her path to freedom. At the first house she was put into a wagon, covered with a sack, and driven to her next destination. Following the route to Pennsylvania, she initially settled in Philadelphia, where she met William Still, the Philadelphia Stationmaster on the Underground Railroad. With the assistance of Still, and other members of the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society, she learned about the workings of the UGRR.

In 1851 she began relocating members of her family to St. Catharines, (Ontario) Canada West. North Street in St. Catharines remained her base of operations until 1857. While there she worked at various activities to save to finance her activities as a Conductor on the UGRR, and attended the Salem Chapel BME Church on Geneva Street(The Life of Harriet Tubman).




Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad, a vast network of people who helped fugitive slaves escape to the North and to Canada, was not run by any single organization or person. Rather, it consisted of many individuals -- many whites but predominently black -- who knew only of the local efforts to aid fugitives and not of the overall operation. Still, it effectively moved hundreds of slaves northward each year -- according to one estimate, the South lost 100,000 slaves between 1810 and 1850(The Underground Railroad).


After freeing herself from slavery, Harriet Tubman returned to Maryland to rescue other members of her family. In all she is believed to have conducted approximately 300 persons to freedom in the North. The tales of her exploits reveal her highly spiritual nature, as well as a grim determination to protect her charges and those who aided them. She always expressed confidence that God would aid her efforts, and threatened to shoot any of her charges who thought to turn back(The Life of Harriet Tubman).



Works Cited

"The Life of Harriet Tubman - New York History Net." New York History Net - A Project of the Institute for New York State Studies. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Harriet Tubman Life. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .

"Harriett Tubman Biography." Lakewood Public Library (Lakewood, Ohio). Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .

"SPECTRUM Biographies - Harriet Tubman." IncWell. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

"The Underground Railroad." PBS. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .

The Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party is one of the most famous American Protests. After the French and Indian war the British were looking for a way to recoup their losses by taxing American Colonies. This was not the only way the British tried to get back their losses. "A series of actions including the Stamp Act (1765), the Townsend Acts (1767) and the Boston Massacre (1770) agitated the colonists, straining relations with the mother country. But it was the Crown's attempt to tax tea that spurred the colonists to action and laid the groundwork for the American Revolution [1]." The Americans were not going to allow this to happen and did everything in the power to make sure it did not. "A group of indignant colonists, led by Samuel Adams , Paul Revere , and others, disguised themselves as Native Americans, boarded the ships on the night of Dec. 16, 1773, and threw the tea into the harbor [2]." They were successful in stopping the British from taxing them on goods.

The Outcome

“The historical significance of the Boston Tea Party is recognized more in the British response than in the event itself. As a result of the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the following laws designed to punish the Americans [3].”

1.) The Coercive Acts - These acts, including the Boston Harbor bill, closed the harbor to all commercial traffic until Americans paid for the tea they dumped.

2.) The Administration of Justice Act - This act required the extradition (transfer) of all royal officials charged with capital crimes in America to courts in Great Britain.

3.) Massachusetts Government Act - This act ended self-rule in the colonies and made all elected officers in America subject to British appointment.

4.) Quartering Act - This was simply a new version of the 1765 Quartering Act which required Americans to provide accommodations (housing , food, clothing etc.) to British soldiers if necessary.

5.) Quebec Act - This act extended the Canadian border (British territory) into the Ohio River Valley and eliminated lands that were claimed by Massachusetts, Virginia and Connecticut.

These acts were called the Intolerable Acts in America and resulted in the formation of the Continental Congress.

Sited Sources

1. "The Boston Tea Party, 1773." EyeWitness to History - History through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. .

2. "Boston Tea Party." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Sep. 2010 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

3. "Boston Tea Party."<>