American Moses
Title
American Moses
Description
The original Moses didn’t get to the Promised Land, but at least he didn’t have to fight for his pension. His successor, Harriet Tubman, did. (Thread) #Suffrage100 #AfricanAmerican #Harriet #KnowYour19th
Harriet is most famous for her 13 daring missions into the south, in which she rescued 70+ people from slavery and never lost a passenger. But I didn’t know of her next chapter as a military hero.
She joined the Union Army when the Civil War began, and for three years she served as nurse, spy, and scout. In 1863 she was the first American woman to lead troops into battle - leading an armed raid that freed 700 enslaved people in South Carolina.
Her activism continued after the war. She joined the lecture circuit, speaking for suffrage in coordination with ElizabethCadyStanton and Susan B Anthony. In 1896 Tubman helped merge multiple African-American women’s groups into the powerful National Association of Colored Women.
After her husband’s death in 1888, Harriet got a widow’s benefit of $8/month. She spent the next decade petitioning Congress to recognize her as a veteran herself + in 1899 was finally awarded her own pension of $20/month. #twitterstorians please say more on Civil War pensions!
More than 1,000 people attended her funeral in Auburn, NY in 1913, where she was buried with full military honors - the 1st woman, again. Tubman was revered then and now - she was chosen by the Treasury Dept and by a popular campaign to replace racist Andrew Jackson on the $20.
The current administration put the change on hold, but I still expect to pay with “Tubmans” someday. Mural: @TheRealNaturel p.s. There’s a movie! @HarrietFilm starring @CynthiaErivo - opens November 1.
Harriet is most famous for her 13 daring missions into the south, in which she rescued 70+ people from slavery and never lost a passenger. But I didn’t know of her next chapter as a military hero.
She joined the Union Army when the Civil War began, and for three years she served as nurse, spy, and scout. In 1863 she was the first American woman to lead troops into battle - leading an armed raid that freed 700 enslaved people in South Carolina.
Her activism continued after the war. She joined the lecture circuit, speaking for suffrage in coordination with ElizabethCadyStanton and Susan B Anthony. In 1896 Tubman helped merge multiple African-American women’s groups into the powerful National Association of Colored Women.
After her husband’s death in 1888, Harriet got a widow’s benefit of $8/month. She spent the next decade petitioning Congress to recognize her as a veteran herself + in 1899 was finally awarded her own pension of $20/month. #twitterstorians please say more on Civil War pensions!
More than 1,000 people attended her funeral in Auburn, NY in 1913, where she was buried with full military honors - the 1st woman, again. Tubman was revered then and now - she was chosen by the Treasury Dept and by a popular campaign to replace racist Andrew Jackson on the $20.
The current administration put the change on hold, but I still expect to pay with “Tubmans” someday. Mural: @TheRealNaturel p.s. There’s a movie! @HarrietFilm starring @CynthiaErivo - opens November 1.
Creator
Daily Suffragist
Source
Date
26/09/2019
Files
Collection
Citation
Daily Suffragist, “American Moses,” Daily Suffragist, accessed December 4, 2023, https://dailysuffragist.omeka.net/items/show/68.