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A review by bioniclib
She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
5.0
I'm used to reading biographies that are heavy tomes. This isn't one of those. The edition I read wasn't even 200 pages. But you know what? That's just fine. I knew next to nothing about the woman they called Grandma Moses. I knew she was a conductor on the Underground Railroad but that's pretty much it. So a more succinct biography was just fine. The one complaint I have is that after her role as a Union Spy in the US Civil War, there wasn't much more info. I don't know if that was because of lack on info or an intentional choice. But I would have liked more on her activities in the Suffrage Movement.
That said I learned so much about her from this book. Here's a sampling:
Harriet was not her birth name. That was Araminta. (location 218)
Her father was named Ben Ross. Ben's owner said in his will that Ben would be free when he reached 45 years of age. It happened. (loc 322)
The will also freed all of Ben's family when they reached 45. The family's next owner, said...yeah, not so much. (loc 407)
The Underground Railroad was already I thing when she escaped to freedom...then turned right around to start freeing her family. (445) This surprised me. I though, for whatever reason, she had a hand in forming it.
At location 531, the author mentioned that Harriet didn't let the fear of The Fugitive Slave Law resulting in her re-capture. This got me wondering: How did the slave catchers know who the fugitive belonged to? Don't they think all blacks look alike or is that a modern development of racism?
The FSL of 1850 also made The North less save for fugitive slaves. So The UR and Harriet started conducting all the way to Canada. (601)
Frederick Douglass, in his autobio said "On one occasion I had eleven fugitives at the same time under my roof, and it was necessary for them to remain with me until I could collect sufficient money to get them on to Canada.” That was most likely Harriet. The two knew one another and worked together. (620)
"Confining slavery to the Southern states was deemed unconstitutional, a victory for slaveholders and a nightmare for free blacks and runaways.” (768) W the actual F?! As near I can tell, Article I Section 9 is the section that was leaned on to come to this decision. It says:
"The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person." Read more, here: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/article-i/clauses/761
"Harriet’s frustrations continued to mount. In addition to her anger over the treatment of black soldiers, she grew tired of being penniless. She took an account of her work and service for the military and grew resentful. For three and a half years she had cared for sick soldiers and put her life in danger—and had only received $200" (56.30%, I read a good chunk on my Kindle, which gives the location, but also moved to the Libby app because my kindle was charging. The app gives it in %) I appreciate how her heroics are presented alongside the oppression she faced by being a black woman.
Remember how only Harriet's dad was freed? Well, he paid $20 to free his wife. (location 1484) I find that fitting that she will (hopefully) be on the $20 in the future.
That said I learned so much about her from this book. Here's a sampling:
Harriet was not her birth name. That was Araminta. (location 218)
Her father was named Ben Ross. Ben's owner said in his will that Ben would be free when he reached 45 years of age. It happened. (loc 322)
The will also freed all of Ben's family when they reached 45. The family's next owner, said...yeah, not so much. (loc 407)
The Underground Railroad was already I thing when she escaped to freedom...then turned right around to start freeing her family. (445) This surprised me. I though, for whatever reason, she had a hand in forming it.
At location 531, the author mentioned that Harriet didn't let the fear of The Fugitive Slave Law resulting in her re-capture. This got me wondering: How did the slave catchers know who the fugitive belonged to? Don't they think all blacks look alike or is that a modern development of racism?
The FSL of 1850 also made The North less save for fugitive slaves. So The UR and Harriet started conducting all the way to Canada. (601)
Frederick Douglass, in his autobio said "On one occasion I had eleven fugitives at the same time under my roof, and it was necessary for them to remain with me until I could collect sufficient money to get them on to Canada.” That was most likely Harriet. The two knew one another and worked together. (620)
"Confining slavery to the Southern states was deemed unconstitutional, a victory for slaveholders and a nightmare for free blacks and runaways.” (768) W the actual F?! As near I can tell, Article I Section 9 is the section that was leaned on to come to this decision. It says:
"The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person." Read more, here: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/article-i/clauses/761
"Harriet’s frustrations continued to mount. In addition to her anger over the treatment of black soldiers, she grew tired of being penniless. She took an account of her work and service for the military and grew resentful. For three and a half years she had cared for sick soldiers and put her life in danger—and had only received $200" (56.30%, I read a good chunk on my Kindle, which gives the location, but also moved to the Libby app because my kindle was charging. The app gives it in %) I appreciate how her heroics are presented alongside the oppression she faced by being a black woman.
Remember how only Harriet's dad was freed? Well, he paid $20 to free his wife. (location 1484) I find that fitting that she will (hopefully) be on the $20 in the future.