HARRIET – ASSESSMENT BOOKLET
THE PLOT
The film opens in 1840s Maryland, a slave state. Araminta "Minty" Ross is newly married to a freedman,
John Tubman. Minty is still a slave herself on the Brodess farm, along with her mother and sister, while
two other sisters had been sold to another slave owner in the South. Reverend Green finishes his sermon
advising obedience to follow the Lord's will.
Her father, also a freedman, approaches Mr. Brodess with evidence that Brodess' ancestor had agreed to
free Minty's mother, Harriet "Rit" Ross, when she was 45, and that she and her children legally should
have been free since Rit turned 45 twelve years before. Mr. Brodess insists they will always be slaves, and
tears up the letter from the lawyer who had analyzed the will. In despair, Minty prays for God to take
away Mr. Brodess, whom she describes as evil. Brodess's adult son Gideon finds Minty praying, and
shouts angrily at her, saying God does not care about the prayers of slaves.
Mr. Brodess dies shortly afterward, and Gideon offers Minty for sale. Minty, who suffers "spells" since
being struck in the head as a girl, has a vision of herself escaping to freedom. She says these scenes are
visions from God and decides to run right before she's to be taken to auction.
John offers to run with Minty, but she leaves him behind, fearing that he would lose his own freedom if
caught escaping with her. She meets with her father on the way out, who tells her to go to Rev. Green for
help with her journey. She worries, since he always says to be obedient to their masters, but goes anyway
due to her father's encouragement. When she meets with the Reverend he tells her what she must do to
make it to freedom.
She travels all night but is pursued by dogs and four men on horseback. One of them is Gideon who
manages to track her down. Gideon chases her to a bridge over a river, where he appeals to her faith and
even promises not to sell her. She jumps into the river anyway, saying she will live free or die.
Everyone thinks Minty has been drowned but instead she successfully makes it to the blacksmith Rev.
Green advised her to go to, Thomas Garrett. He takes her 25 miles from the Philadelphia border and she
walks the rest of the way. She has now arrived in Philadelphia via the Underground Railroad, assisted by
Quakers (Christians) and other abolitionists.
In Philadelphia, she meets William Still, an abolitionist and writer. William encourages her to take a new
free name, and she calls herself Harriet after her mother and Tubman to keep her husband's name. After
that, she tells William about her journey and childhood. He commends her for making it 100 miles on her
own as this is rather unheard of. After she tells him God gives her visions of the future to prepare and
advise her, he writes, "possible brain damage." He does not tell her what he has written.
She also meets Marie Buchanon, the fashionable daughter of a freed slave who was born free and is now
a boarding-house proprietor. She stays with her for the time-being. Marie also tells Harriet she can get
word to her family that she made it to freedom.
After a year in Philadelphia, Harriet begs William to get his people to help bring her family over. He tells
her getting slaves free has gotten much harder with slave owners, hunters, cities, and Congress working
together. William also tells her she needs to know how to read and demands she stays as she could
reveal their organization. She then tells Marie who gives her a dress and gun for her trip. She successfully
makes it to John's homestead only to find he has remarried, believing she was dead, and is expecting a
baby with his new wife.
Devastated, Harriet talks to the Lord who shows her visions of her sisters then her escaping. He also
shows future visions of her leading others to freedom right before her father meets with her. He tells her
of others who wish to escape, and she decides to free the rest of her family. Except for her parents and
sister who refuses to leave her two children.
The next day Gideon and the rest find out about their 5 slaves who ran off. He goes after Harriet's sister
who had just given birth threatening her kids. She reveals to Gideon that Harriet is still alive and came
back for those who ran. Gideon makes it his mission to find the slaves and Harriet at all cost. They nearly
capture them when God sends her more visions and advises Harriet on a safe path for them to take.
Harriet continues to return, guiding dozens of slaves to freedom as a conductor on the Underground
Railroad, and a myth begins to grow about the person responsible, who is dubbed Moses. She notably
loses nobody on her travels and each person tells their story to William Still. However, when the Fugitive
Slave Act passes, the escaped slaves are in jeopardy of being brought back even from free states. Gideon
is livid when he discovers that she is "Moses," especially as his fellow slave owners demand he
compensate them for Harriet freeing their own slaves. Gideon pursues her to Philadelphia along with the
slave hunter Bigger Long, who kills Marie. Harriet then flees to Canada with help from her friends.
In Canada, Harriet learns her sister died. After meeting William once again, she insists that the
Underground Railroad must continue. She continues to help runaway slaves flee all the way to Canada.
She even receives a vision from God that her dad needs to be saved right before a previous helped slave
reveals he worked for the Underground Railroad. Harriet then takes both her parents North.
Over time, the Brodess farm falls into financial ruin. Mrs. Brodess vows to catch Harriet, using her sister's
children as bait, but Harriet's team overwhelms Gideon's siblings and retrieves the last remaining Brodess
slaves. In a final confrontation, Gideon shoots Bigger Long to death who was about to kill Harriet. Then
Harriet traps him. She lets Gideon live, prophesying that he would die on that battlefield, fighting for
the "Lost Cause" and the sin of slavery. Telling him that her people would be free, she takes his horse and
rides away.
In the last scenes of the film, Harriet is seen leading an armed expedition of 150 black soldiers into
the Combahee River Raid. There they free hundreds of slaves who rush into the river. Afterwards, she
arrives back at her home surrounded by her loved ones.
An epilogue at the end of the film describes some of her accomplishments: She personally freed more
than 70 slaves on the Underground Railroad and returned as a Union spy during the Civil War, leading
150 black soldiers, who freed over 750 slaves, and helped women's suffrage. She died at the approximate
age of 91 and her last words were "I go to prepare a place for you".
Harriet Identity quotes (put at least one quote in each paragraph)
Her identity (when she was a slave)
“My daddy always said that a slave was like a pig – you feed it and raise it, but eventually you might
have to sell it or eat it” – Harriet’s “owner/master”, Gideon Brodess.
“You money to them, unless word spread you run off. Then you damaged goods. They will beat you,
hobble you or worse” – Reverend Green
“I’m gonna be free or die!” – Harriet Tubman.
“Overseer cracked my skull right open when I was about 13…they say I slept most of two months.
Next thing I remember was seeing my sisters sold.” – Harriet Tubman.
“Our status in this community is measured in Negroes. We can’t sell any – do you want us to live like
poor people?” – Eliza Brodess
Her identity (as a freedom fighter)
“I want my mama name and my husband – Harriet Tubman” – Harriet Tubman.
“Do you know what would happen if you got caught? They would torture you until you told them
everything.” – William Still
“Don’t you tell me what I can’t do… you don’t know me. If I’m free, my family should be too. If you
won’t help me free them, I’ll go myself.” – Harriet Tubman.
“I thought you loved me? You took another wife!” – Harriet Tubman.
“You are so far beyond any man I have ever met… What’s a man to a woman touched by God?”. –
Marie Buchanan
“Don’t you judge us, Minty. Don’t you dare judge us. We do what we gotta do to stay sane. Can’t
everybody run”. – Rachel Ross
“Many of you have been free so long you forget what it’s like… but I remember. Children beat for not
working ‘fore they know what work is. Girls raped ‘fore their first blood. Brothers whipped ‘til their
back in ribbons. Sisters sold from their babies. I would give every last drop in my veins to free them. I
ain’t stopping until this beast called slavery is slain dead!” – Harriet Tubman.
“We are victims of this diabolical nigger Black Moses just like you… now we need to find this black
devil and burn her at the stake like Joan of Arc!” – Eliza Brodess (speaking to the other white
plantation owners, who are blaming the Brodess family for Harriet freeing their slaves).
“Do you know what they will do to you when they catch you? They will tear you limb from limb, tar
you, and burn you alive. And even if I’m not there to watch it, I can almost smell it now. Like roasting
pig.” – Gideon Brodess.
“I was never yours, Gideon. I was never nobody’s property. Ever since your daddy sold my sisters, I
prayed for God to make me strong enough to fight. I reasoned there was one or two things I had a
right to. Liberty or death.” – Harriet Tubman.
“You’re going to die Gideon… on a freezing, blood-soaked battlefield. The moans of a generation of
young men, dying around you in agony for a lost cause. For a vile and wicked idea. For the sin of
slavery. God don’t mean people to own people, Gideon. Our time is near.” – Harriet Tubman.
“You tried to destroy my family, but you can’t. You tried to destroy my family, but you won’t. God has
shown me the future, and my people are free. My people are free!” – Harriet Tubman.
HARRIET’S IDENTITY
Changes
from…
-Slave
-Property, goods, “money”
-No better than a pig
-The wife of a freeman (John)
-The daughter of a freeman and a slave woman
-Lives in Maryland
-Named Araminta “Minty” Ross Tubman
-Frightened, afraid all the time
Changes
to….
-An escaped slave
-Part of the Pennyslvania Anti-Slavery Society
-Conductor on the Underground Railroad
-Lives in Pennsylvania
-Divorced from John
-Named Harriet Tubman
-Strong, determined, brave
-Called “Black Moses” by slaves and slave-owners alike because of the many slaves
she helped to free
DEFINITIONS
Abolitionist: a person (usually white) who believed slavery was wrong and wanted to free the slaves
and to return them to Africa
Freedman/freedwoman: a former slave who had legally been freed