The word generosity has many meanings such as the quality of being kind or the quality of being plentiful and kind hearted. Harriet Tubman gave generosity a whole new meaning by risking her life and giving all that she could to save hundreds of people.

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in 1820 in Dorchester County, Maryland, according to New York History Net. Having her two parents both held in slavery, she was purely African-American. She grew up with very harsh conditions, and even as a small child, was subjected to very painful whippings. Harriet showed compassion even at the age of just twelve years old. A white overseer gave her a pretty serious injury by throwing a very heavy weight at her head. At the time of the injury, Harriet was refusing to tie up a man who tried to escape. This showed that Harriet thought about the people around her more than she thought about herself. Thirteen years later, she made a very courageous decision and made her first escape.

The Contemporary Black Biography said, ”Tubman became known as the “Moses” of her people.” She served the North’s Union Army as a nurse, spy, and a scout, during the civil war. In her later years, Harriet founded a home for older, indigent black people. All through her life, people recognized her to be a very caring and courageous person.

According to the Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, Tubman rescued approximately 300 African-American men, women, and children and led them to freedom by traveling to the South 19 times. Her first rescue mission was in 1850. She traveled all the way to Baltimore, Maryland, to rescue her sister and two children. Harriet’s notoriety as a leader of the Underground Railroad led some Maryland planters to offer a $40,000 bounty for her capture. Tubman possessed a stubborn nature that pulled her through unrelenting hardship. This act of bravery truly showed how generous Harriet really was.

American History said, ”Harriet Tubman may have only stood about five feet tall, but she became known as a towering figure in American history.” She escaped slavery, and she also helped over hundreds of others do the same. Harriet also championed the rights of both blacks and women. Being a colored woman and having that much ability to change the lives of so many people is without a doubt truly amazing.

In 1913, Harriet Tubman died a hero. She changed so many lives, and nothing is more powerful than that. In 1904, Harriet spoke in New York State at the 28^th annual convention of the Women’s Suffrage Association. She said,” I was conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors cannot say—I never ran my train off  the tracks and I never lost a passenger.”