The exact date of Harriet Tubman’s birth is unknown but is estimated between 1820-1822. She was born a slave but escaped in 1849 only to return to the south to lead other slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War, Tubman worked as a soldier and a spy for the Union Army.

After the Emancipation Proclamation, Tubman’s fight for social justice didn’t cease. She became an outspoken suffragist, speaking at conferences advocating for a woman’s right to vote. Tubman died in 1913.

About the Narrator:
CATHERINE CLINTON
Historian & Author, "Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom" 

Catherine Clinton, Ph.D., currently serves as Denman Chair of American History at the University of Texas in San Antonio. Clinton has written and edited over 30 books including her 2004 biography, Harriet Tubman; The Road to Freedom. Clinton said, “I’ve never run across a character in history that I’ve worked on who’s been so inspirational. So I feel the obstacles she overcame, that the legacy she left us is something that I can take with me everyday forward into the classroom and off campus.”

Clinton is currently working on The Cassandra Project, a historical look at sexual harassment and argues that the plantation was the first hostile workplace for women.

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