Chapter 1, Born into Bondage Summary

Harriet Tubman was born Araminta Ross sometime around 1820 in Maryland. It is unclear where she was born or how many siblings she had. Her parents, Harriet Green and Benjamin Ross, were both slaves. They were owned by different individuals but managed to live close to one another. Little is known about her parents. Their status as slaves meant that they had little self-determination.

Slavery in the United States started in the Chesapeake region. By the early seventeenth century, many whites welcomed the cheap labor that African slaves provided. In 1800, slave owners had an average of eleven slaves on their land. The supply of slaves from Africa was cut off soon after this, at the same time that slaveholders were increasing settling in the frontier. This created a situation where slave women became valued not only for their...