PRINTER'S NO. 3068
No. 390 Session of 2000
INTRODUCED BY THOMAS, MARCH 6, 2000
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MARCH 6, 2000
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating March 10, 2000, as "Harriet Tubman Day" in
2 Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Harriet Tubman, the famous fugitive slave from
4 Maryland, was born in 1820 on the Brodas Plantation in
5 Dorchester County, Maryland; and
6 WHEREAS, At 15 years of age, Harriet Tubman received a severe
7 head injury at the hands of her master for trying to help
8 another slave escape; and
9 WHEREAS, In 1849 Harriet Tubman escaped from the Brodas
10 plantation by walking alone along streams and with the help of
11 the Underground Railroad for about 90 miles north into freedom;
12 and
13 WHEREAS, For two years after her escape, Harriet Tubman
14 worked hard as a dishwasher in Philadelphia, and over the next
15 several years she rescued many members of her family from
16 slavery; and
17 WHEREAS, Harriet Tubman was well-known for her activities
1 with the Underground Railroad, helping more than 300 slaves
2 escape through 19 trips; and
3 WHEREAS, Slaveholders posted a $40,000 reward for the capture
4 of Harriet Tubman, who was known as the "Black Moses"; and
5 WHEREAS, With the arrival of the Civil War, Harriet Tubman
6 became a spy for the Union Army, and she later worked as a
7 Government nurse in Washington, D.C.; and
8 WHEREAS, During her lifetime, Harriet Tubman was honored by
9 many people for her tireless efforts to save others from the
10 grip of slavery, and in 1897 she received a silver medal from
11 Queen Victoria; and
12 WHEREAS, On March 10, 1913, Harriet Tubman died of pneumonia
13 at 93 years of age; and
14 WHEREAS, Harriet Tubman is an inspiration for the principles
15 of liberty, justice and hope for all of us today; therefore be
16 it
17 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate March
18 10, 2000, as "Harriet Tubman Day" in Pennsylvania.
C2L82DMS/20000H0390R3068 - 2 -