Harriet Tubman: A Biography

This concise biography of Harriet Tubman, the African American abolitionist, explores her various roles as an Underground Railroad conductor, Civil War scout and nurse, and women’s rights advocate.

The legendary Moses of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman was a fiery and tenacious abolitionist who organized and led African American military operations deep in the Confederacy. Harriet Tubman: A Biography relates the life story of this extraordinary woman, standing as a testament to her tenacity, drive, intelligence, and courage.

In telling the remarkable story of Tubman’s life, the biography examines her early years as Araminta Ross (her birth name), her escape from slavery, her activities as an Underground Railroad conductor, her involvement in the Civil War, and her role as a champion of women’s rights. The book places its heroine in the broad context of her time and the movements in which she was involved, and the narrative shifts between the contextual and the personal to give the reader a strong understanding of Tubman as a woman who was shaped by, and helped to shape, the time in which she lived.

The late James A. McGowan was editor of the Harriet Tubman Journal and author of several books, including Station Master on the Underground Railroad: The Life and Letters of Thomas Garrett.

William C. Kashatus holds a doctorate in history from the University of Pennsylvania.