Harriet Tubman quotes are small windows into the life of one of the bravest women in U.S. history. Known best for her role in the Underground Railroad, Tubman risked her own life time and time again to free slaves and abolish slavery.
Tubman was not born a free woman. Her parents were slaves on a Maryland plantation at the time of her birth. The horrific reality of slavery often separated Tubman’s large family, leaving her to fend for herself from a very young age. During her childhood, Tubman sustained a major head injury that left her with long-lasting side effects. However, this injury kindled a newfound spiritual drive in Tubman.
This drive would ultimately influence Tubman to escape slavery, securing freedom for herself and others.
In 1849, Tubman escaped slavery with her two brothers through the Underground Railroad. This trip and Tubman’s religious disposition prompted her to join the Underground Railroad as a ‘conductor.’ She couldn’t leave her family members and others in slavery behind. Thus, from 1850 to 1860, Tubman helped over 300 African-Americans escape and attain freedom in the North.
This was not a simple task. Tubman was very intelligent and strategic. She developed disguises, safe houses, as well as a strong network of abolitionists to ensure she never lost a ‘passenger’ along the way.
Tubman’s work did not stop with the Underground Railroad.
When the Civil War raged from 1861 to 1865, this courageous woman worked as a spy for the Union. Tubman helped the Union army raid plantations in South Carolina, a mission that freed over 700 slaves from bondage.
Harriet Tubman’s legacy and spirit will live on forever. Here are some powerful Harriet Tubman quotes that teach us how to stand our ground and maintain our faith in our journeys.
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“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
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“When I found I had crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person.”
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“…there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land; and my home, after all, was down in Maryland, because my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were there. But I was free, and they should be free.
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“I grew up like a neglected weed, – ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it. Then I was not happy or contented.”
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“I can’t die but once.”
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“Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
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“Slavery is the next thing to hell.”
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“I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.”
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“Never wound a snake; kill it.”
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park – Auburn, NY -
“And I prayed to God to make me strong and able to fight, and that’s what I’ve always prayed for ever since.”
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“Stop searching for happiness in the same place you lost it. Change is not dismantling the old, it’s building the new.”
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“I would fight for my liberty so long as my strength lasted, and if the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me.”
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“Quakers almost as good as colored. They call themselves friends and you can trust them every time.”
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“I think there’s many a slaveholder’ll get to Heaven. They don’t know better. They acts up to the light they have.”
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“I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”
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“I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive.”
Each Harriet Tubman quote is a piece of history. Which quote did you enjoy the most? Let us know in the comments below – we’d love to hear how Tubman’s words and story inspired your day!
Featured Image Courtesy of Wikipedia.com
