African-American Harriet Tabman opposed the slave system in the United States and was a supporter of social reform in the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her whole life was aimed at legitimizing equality for black people and women.
By her own example, she attracted many slaves to the struggle for her rights. Because of the talk that soon her face will appear on an American banknote with a face value of twenty dollars, they started talking about her in the world. Who was Harriet?
early years
Araminta Ross was born, known to everyone as Harriet Tabman, presumably in 1820 in a family of a slave from the county of Dorchester (USA). At the age of thirteen, she fell into a situation due to which she could die. She was in the store when the slave overseer demanded her help. She was to take part in the beating of a runaway slave. The girl refused to fulfill the demand and blocked the white man’s path. For this, he threw a two-pound weight in her direction, hitting Harriet in the head. The girl miraculously survived, but the healing process continued for many months. The trauma bothered her all her life.
At twenty-four years old, she married the free black John Tabman. In an effort to gain freedom, she told her husband about her desire to escape to the north. But the man did not support her, threatening to extradite the owners for trying to escape. Then Harriet decided to act independently, secretly from her husband. After escaping to Maryland, she joined the abolitionists. What is the essence of this movement?
The concept of abolitionism
Translated from Latin, the word means "cancel." This is a movement that fought for the abolition of slavery. By the birth of Harriet Tabman, it was forbidden to import African slaves into the USA and the British colonies . In 1833, slavery was banned in the British Empire. However, in the USA the situation remained the same.
One of the first white-skinned abolitionists in the United States is John Brown. The fate of this man was not easy: his business did not work out, he survived the death of his first wife and several of his children from his first and second marriage, he grew into debt, once even sat in prison for it. But John could think of nothing else but the struggle to free the slaves. Over time, his sons joined his work. His methods of struggle were aggressive. As a result of the events at Harpers Ferry, he was brought to trial and sentenced to death by hanging.
The young woman became part of the US Slave Free Movement. She maintained a relationship with John Brown.
Participation in the abolitionist movement
Harriet Tabman has been part of the movement since 1849, immediately after the escape. She saved the slaves by transporting the fugitive inhabitants of the southern states to the north, as well as to Canada. To this end, a special organization was created called the Underground Railroad.
Harriet Tubman has counted hundreds of freed slaves and thousands of those who escaped on their own, inspired by her example.
She herself claimed (according to her biographer Sarah Bradford) that for her there was only a choice between freedom and death. She saw her life in the struggle for freedom.
Participation in the civil war
Harriet Tabman (African-American abolitionist) did not stand aside during the events of 1861-1865. The Civil War became the bloodiest in US history. The country was divided into two warring camps. One of them was the North, consisting of non-slave states, the basis of the economy of which was industrial production. The second was the South, which included the slaveholding states of the southern and northern parts of the United States, the economy of which was based on a slave labor farm.
She fought in the army of the North as a nurse and scout. A detachment with her participation in 1863 was able to free about 750 slaves. One outcome of the war was the prohibition of slavery throughout the United States. However, the issue of granting equal rights to the black population remained unresolved.
At the end of the war, the woman continued the movement to improve the life of blacks, as well as for women's rights. Harriet died 03/10/1913 in Obernai (New York).
A film about the life of an African American abolitionist
The biography of Harriet Tabman will soon become the basis for the feature film, which so far has the working title “Harriet”. The screenwriter was Gregory Allen Howard, who had already raised the topic of racial discrimination in another of his creations, Remembering the Titans.
Despite the fact that the script is ready, filming will begin in 2017. It is assumed that the director will be Seth Mann. He is known for his work, for example, the series The Listening and The Walking Dead.
Image on a dollar bill
If you know the biography of a well-known US abolitionist, it is not surprising that the image of Harriet Tabmen may be presented on a new twenty-dollar bill. The dollar will receive a new face presumably in 2020, to the centenary of the date of vesting women with voting rights.
Interestingly, women were already depicted on a twenty-dollar bill. In 1863, it was Lady Liberty with a shield and a sword in her hands, in 1865 - Pocahontas, who is known as the Native American Princess.
It is worth recalling that from 1928 to the present day, the seventh president, Andrew Jackson, was depicted on the banknote. At one time, he earned a huge fortune, being engaged in the slave trade.
According to some reports, Tabmen and Jackson will divide the banknote into two. Such a neighborhood would look very provocative, given the views of both regarding slavery.