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Meet Amazing Americans Activists & Reformers Harriet Tubman
 
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'$200 Reward. Ran away from the subscriber ... Five Negro Slaves.'
A reward poster for runaway slaves from 1847

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Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad
After Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery, she returned to slave-holding states many times to help other slaves escape. She led them safely to the northern free states and to Canada. It was very dangerous to be a runaway slave. There were rewards for their capture, and ads like you see here described slaves in detail. Whenever Tubman led a group of slaves to freedom, she placed herself in great danger. There was a bounty offered for her capture because she was a fugitive slave herself, and she was breaking the law in slave states by helping other slaves escape. What do you think Tubman did when someone she was helping became frightened and wanted to turn back?
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