[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 44 (Thursday, March 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               HARRIET TUBMAN, FREEDOM FIGHTER, UNION SPY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2001

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Harriet Tubman and 
her hard work and dedication to social justice. Harriet Tubman is 
credited with freeing many African-Americans from slavery. She is 
remembered for her work with the Underground Railroad, her life and 
commitment to helping others gain their freedom.
  Mrs. Tubman was born a slave, in Bucktown, Maryland. The date of her 
birth is unsure, but it is believed to be March 10, 1820. She was born 
Araminta, but decided later to take on her mother's first name instead. 
Starting life on a plantation, she grew up doing hard labor in the 
fields and suffered repeated beatings. At the age of 13, she was struck 
in the head by an overseer with a heavy weight that fractured her skull 
and subjected her to continuous blackouts.
  After her owner died in 1849, Mrs. Tubman was able to escape to 
Philadelphia on the Underground Railroad. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave 
Law was passed. The law criminalized providing assistance to runaway 
slaves. This new law did not stop Mrs. Tubman, however, from repeatedly 
making trips back into the southern states where she eventually freed 
about 3,000 slaves, including her elderly parents using the Underground 
Railroad. Since she freed so many people from slavery, Harriet Tubman 
became known as the ``Moses of her people''.
  Despite these achievements, Harriet Tubman's role as a member of the 
Union Army's forces, during the Civil War, is not widely recognized. 
She later reported to General David Hunter at Hilton Head, South 
Carolina in 1863 where she worked as a nurse, scout, spy and cook for 
the Union Army. During the War, Harriet led a bold raid in South 
Carolina that freed over 800 slaves.
  In 1884, after the Civil War, Harriet Tubman married John Tubman a 
freed slave. Four years later, her husband died leaving her to live the 
latter portion of her life in poverty. Nevertheless, Mrs. Tubman 
campaigned to raise funds for black schools. She also created the 
Harriet Tubman Home for Indignant Aged Negroes in her own home.
  As we end our celebration of Women's History Month, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in honoring Mrs. Harriet Tubman for her hard 
work, extraordinarily contributions toward social justice and her 
service with the Union forces by supporting my legislation to 
posthumously award her veteran status.

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