Harriet Tubman

A Legacy of Freedom Through Her Documented Voice

Harriet Tubman's life story reads like fiction, yet every word she spoke carried the weight of lived experience. Born Araminta Ross into slavery, she would become known as "Moses" for leading her people out of bondage. Her documented words, preserved through interviews with biographer Sarah Bradford in 1869, reveal a woman of extraordinary courage and unwavering faith.

The Philosophy of Freedom

Tubman's approach to freedom was absolute and uncompromising. As she explained to Bradford, she started with a simple idea: "There's two things I've got a right to, and these are Death or Liberty. One or the other I mean to have." This wasn't mere rhetoric. She meant every word, declaring that no one would take her back alive and that she would fight for her liberty until the Lord decided her time had come.

The Moment of Liberation

When Tubman first crossed into free territory, the experience transformed her understanding of herself. She recalled looking at her hands to see if she was the same person. "There was such a glory over everything," she remembered. The sun came like gold through the trees and over the fields, making her feel as though she had entered Heaven itself.

But the joy was bittersweet. As she told Bradford, there was no one to welcome her to the land of freedom. She was a stranger in a strange land, and her true home remained in Maryland where her family still lived in bondage. That realization sparked her mission: she would make a home in the North and bring them there, with God's help.

Faith as Her Compass

Throughout her dangerous missions, Tubman relied entirely on divine guidance. When asked how she managed to return repeatedly with a price on her head, she had a simple answer: "It wasn't me—it was the Lord! I always told Him, 'I trust to you. I don't know where to go or what to do, but I expect you to lead me,' and He always did."

Her faith was matched by her determination. She famously stated that she never ran her train off the track and never lost a passenger. When frightened travelers wanted to turn back, she was direct: "Dead folks tell no tales. You go on or die." The choice was stark because the consequences were real.

A Dangerous Rescue

One of her most daring rescues involved bringing her elderly parents to freedom. She transported them in a primitive wagon with just a board to sit on and ropes for their feet. The journey was forty miles through dangerous territory, but she succeeded in bringing them safely to Canada.

Her Enduring Message

Tubman served her country in multiple capacities—as a liberator during slavery and as a nurse and scout during the Civil War. Through it all, she never asked for anything except freedom for her people. Her documented words from the Bradford interviews, available through the University of North Carolina's digital archives, continue to inspire generations with their raw authenticity and moral clarity.

As she told those she led northward: the path to freedom requires perseverance. No matter the obstacles—dogs, torches, or pursuers—the answer was always the same. Keep going. With God's help, they would make it through. And they did.