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A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman
What I Learned Section 1 -- Answer
the Following Questions:
1. When was Harriet Tubman born?
In 1820, the exact date is unknown. Harriet Tubman was born into
slavery in a one-room log hut on a large plantation in Dorchester
County, Maryland, in 1820. Her mother was Harriet Green, and her
father was Benjamin Ross. Harriet had ten brothers and sisters.
She was the sixth oldest. In 1844, Harriet married John Tubman.
John was a free African-American.
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2. True or False: Harriet
Tubman escaped from slavery by traveling the Underground Railroad.
True. In 1849, Harriet Tubman and three of her brothers
decided to escape north. Her brothers, however, turned back, and
they made Harriet return with them. Two nights later, Harriet
escaped by herself. She later commented, "I had a right to liberty
or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other." Harriet
escaped by traveling from one safe house to another along the
Underground Railroad. Harriet traveled by night and hid during
the day. At each stop along the Underground Railroad, Harriet
was directed from safe house to safe house. And with each stop
Harriet traveled farther north and closer to freedom. Finally,
Harriet reached the free state of Pennsylvania.
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3. How did Harriet Tubman
help the Underground Railroad?
She was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. From 1850 to
1860, after Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery, she worked hard
as a cook, dish washer, and cleaning woman. She used the money
she earned to help other slaves escape. Harriet disguised herself
as an old woman or as a man, and she used coded songs to tell
the fugitive slaves when it was safe to come out. There was even
a reward for $40,000 for the capture of Harriet Tubman, but she
was never caught. In all, Harriet helped about 300 slaves, including
her relatives, gain their freedom. As a conductor on the Underground
Railroad, Harriet stated, "I never ran my train off the track.
I never lost a passenger."
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4. True or False: Harriet
Tubman was known as "Moses."
True. Harriet Tubman was known as "Moses" because she led
her people out of slavery.
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5. How did Harriet Tubman
help the North during the Civil War?
Harriet Tubman was a nurse and a spy for the Northern (Union)
Army. In November, 1860, Abraham
Lincoln was elected president. By the time Lincoln was sworn in
as president in March, 1861, eleven southern states had seceded
from the Union. These states did not like Lincoln because they
thought Lincoln would end slavery. The Civil War began on April
12, 1861. Harriet helped the Northern Army by leading hundreds
of slaves to freedom and caring for the wounded. After the Civil
War, Harriet returned home to Auburn, New York. Her husband, John,
died in 1867. Harriet remarried Nelson Davis in 1869. Davis died
in 1888. Harriet then opened the Harriet Tubman Home for Aged
and Indigent Negroes in 1908, in Auburn, New York. Harriet died
in Auburn on March 10, 1913. She was 93 years old.
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What I Learned Section 2 -- Define the
following words:
Abolitionist: A person against slavery
Underground Railroad: A series
of safe houses for runaway slaves on their way north to freedom
Civil War: The war between the
North (Union) and the South (Confederacy) which lasted from 1861
to 1865; one of the factors leading up to the Civil War was the
issue of slavery
Thirteenth Amendment: An Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution which abolishes slavery in the United
States
Ratify: Approve
Suffragist Movement: The fight
for the right of women to vote in the United States
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Bonus Questions (Answer 1 of the
Following Questions for Your FREE
Bookmark):
a. Describe Harriet Tubman's life as a slave.
Harriet Tubman's mother and father were slaves owned by Edward
Brodas. When Harriet was born, she was also owned by Edward Brodas.
Slaves were not free. They worked all day for no money. They were
beaten for many reasons including not working hard enough or not
doing what they were told. One time, Harriet was whipped for eating
a lump of sugar. Two of Harriet's sisters were sold to plantation
owners farther south. In 1835, a slave owner threw a metal weight
at a runaway slave, and the weight hit Harriet in the head almost
killing her. She suffered from severe headaches and sleeping spells
for the next eighty years as a result of her wound.
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b. Who was Nat Turner?
Nat Turner (1800-1831) was a slave who started a rebellion against
slave owners in 1831. Many slave owners, their wives, and their
children were killed. Nat Turner was caught and hanged.
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c. What year was the
Thirteenth Amendment ratified?
1865. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishes
slavery in the United States. It was proposed by the Congress
on January 31, 1865, and ratified by three-fourths of the states
on December 6, 1865. Section 1 states, "Neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party
shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
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d. Use five of the words
in Section 2 in a sentence.
Answers will vary. Here are sample sentences from our young readers:
 Frederick
Douglass was an abolitionist
and published the anti-slavery newspaper, The
North Star.
Harriet Tubman was a conductor on the Underground
Railroad, and she helped lead runaway slaves to freedom.
Abraham Lincoln was president during the Civil
War.
I studied the Thirteenth Amendment
in school when I studied about the Civil
War.
Three-fourths of the states must ratify
an amendment before it becomes part of the U.S. Constitution.
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton were leaders during the
Suffragist Movement.
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e. Have a parent or friend give you
a spelling test with EACH of the words in Section 2.
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More Valuable Information about Harriet
Tubman:
Harriet
Tubman Home
Boston
African American NHS: Harriet Tubman
National Women's
Hall of Fame: Harriet Tubman
Harriet
Tubman & the Underground Railroad w/ QUIZ
Harriet
Tubman Home for the Aged
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