Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

Nonfiction | Biography | Middle Grade | Published in 1955

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapters 5-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-10

Chapters 11-12

Chapters 13-14

Chapters 15-16

Chapters 17-18

Chapters 19-20

Chapters 21-22

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 13-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 13 Summary: “The Legend of Moses”

By this time, Harriet had led several expeditions south to rescue people, focusing on her relatives. However, when her husband John refuses to go with her, she leads other slaves to Philadelphia in an “unplanned, spur of the moment” (123) mission. In the following months, Harriet develops a “broader purpose” as she continues to enjoy the “great, incredible wonders of freedom” (124), which she wants all Black people to have. Though she wants to help end slavery by enabling runaways and making slave ownership unprofitable, she is also concerned about the Fugitive Slave Act.

Harriet hears stories that make her worry about the fate of runaway slaves. One is about a runaway named Shadrach who is captured in Boston and has to be smuggled to Canada to avoid recapture again. While he does escape, Harriet is alarmed that he faced the slave catchers’ violence even in Boston. Indeed, another fugitive slave named Thomas Sims is also recaptured in Boston and sent back to his slavemaster in Georgia, where he endures a brutal punishment. Harriet is upset by these developments and realizes that the next time she guides people north, she will have to take them over the border to Canada so they can be certain of their safety from slave catchers.

While Harriet does not know it, she has gained legendary status among the slaves living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland for her actions as a runaway and railroad guide. The slaves revere her and praise her religious faith, physical strength, and deep knowledge of the landscape. Their stories about Harriet would go on for years, blending fact with exaggeration and comparing her to the biblical figure Moses who led the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt.

Chapter 14 Summary: “The Railroad Runs to Canada”

The slave masters who live along the Eastern Shore of Maryland hear some rumors about a man named Moses who is helping their slaves run away. While they feel dubious about the accuracy of the rumors, they notice that more and more slaves are successfully running away. The masters and their overseers never seem to notice anything amiss on their plantations, except for some strange bird calls that sound like whippoorwills or owls, but in the wrong seasons for those birds. They are also frustrated that slaves tend to run away on Saturday nights. On Sunday, the Sabbath, they cannot print the signs that advertise the runaways or hire the slave patrollers to look for them.

In December 1851, Harriet plans her most ambitious mission yet; she decides to lead a group of 11 slaves from her old plantation all the way to Canada. After hearing her softly sing a hymn about fleeing slavery, the slaves quickly spread the word of her arrival and prepare to leave. Harriet feels more worried about this expedition because she knows the large number of slaves escaping will prompt a vicious hunting party to follow them. She is discouraged when she and the runaways arrive at the home of a known safe house, only to be turned away by the homeowner, who is alarmed by the large number of people and says authorities have searched his home. Harriet stays calm and motivates the group with stories about how wonderful life will be in Canada. She tries to calm their nerves and prevent them from becoming too panicked at the thought of being captured. She tells them stories about other Underground Railroad conductors, such as the Quaker Garrett. Garrett owns a shoe store with a hidden room where slaves can hide, and he always gives runaway slaves a new pair of shoes. Harriet can tell that the slaves do not believe that such a person or place exists. Harriet and her group then arrive at a farm owned by a German family, who brings them inside and feeds them milk, bread, and meat. The runaways sleep for an entire day before leaving for their next destination.

Chapters 13-14 Analysis

In these chapters, Petry expands on the theme of religious beliefs, helping readers understand how biblical stories and allegory were an important influence on many enslaved people’s worldview. When the news of Tubman’s heroic acts spreads among enslaved people in Maryland, she is not only praised for her bravery but also her “religious ardor” (129). The slaves inspired by Tubman’s actions refer to her as “Moses,” comparing her to the biblical figure who guided his people out of slavery in Egypt to freedom in Israel. Petry claims that slaves did not only share these stories as a means of comparing information but also as a kind of spiritual ritual that helped them maintain their religious faith. She writes, “Their faith in a living God would be strengthened” (129) in the telling and retelling of Tubman’s rescues. Tubman herself also compares her situation to those in the Bible, as she refers to her old state of Maryland as “the land of Egypt,” since that is where the Pharaohs enslaved people in biblical times (124).

These chapters also provide additional information about the challenges abolitionists faced and some of their tactics to overcome them. For example, Tubman must adapt her plans as a conductor when faced with the harsh reality of the new Fugitive Slave Act. This law was a significant obstacle for railroad conductors and runaway slaves as it jeopardized slaves’ freedom even in the northern states. Tubman decides to extend her route to Canada even though “the route beyond Philadelphia was strange to her” (133), showing her commitment to her cause and the abolitionists’ ability to find loopholes in the oppressive legal system.

These passages show how Tubman manages to subvert the slave owners in other ways. Understanding how plantations operated and the local area's culture helped Tubman employ a useful strategy to avoid detection. She plans her rescues to always begins on a Saturday, knowing that the plantation owners will struggle to get the word out about their missing slaves or hire slave catchers on a Sunday since these men would be enjoying their leisure time “off in the woods with their dogs and their guns” and printing centers would be closed (132). This savvy approach gave Tubman a full day to get ahead of the slave owners' “machinery of pursuit” (132).