Harriet Tubman quotes are an inspiration to all who fought for freedom and who believe that God can bring them through anything. One look at the quotes this great woman of faith wrote and it would be clear she believed strongly that God was with her. Despite the treatment she and many like her received, she held no hatred in her heart for those who ill treated others not like themselves. Her work has inspired men like Martin Luther King Jr. and women like Maya Angelou.
Harriet Tubman was born a slave in the United States of America and later became an American abolitionist and political activist. She helped more than a thousand slaves escape to freedom through what is called the underground railway. Statistics say she rescued about 70 slaves but from her own lips she said she rescued way more. Below are the quotes from a woman who led the way to help others be free just like her.
Quote #1 “I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger." |
Quote #2 “As I lay so sick on my bed, from Christmas till March, I was always praying for poor ole master. 'Pears like I didn't do nothing but pray for ole master. 'Oh, Lord, convert ole master;' 'Oh, dear Lord, change dat man's heart, and make him a Christian.'" |
Quote #3 “Twasn't me, 'twas the Lord! I always told Him, 'I trust to you. I don't know where to go or what to do, but I expect You to lead me,' an' He always did." |
Quote #4 “In my dreams and visions, I seemed to see a line, and on the other side of that line were green fields, and lovely flowers, and beautiful white ladies, who stretched out their arms to me over the line, but I couldn't reach them no-how. I always fell before I got to the line." |
Quote #5 “I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land." |
Quote #6 “I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything. The sun came up like gold through the trees, and I felt like I was in heaven." |
Quote #7 “I said to de Lord, 'I'm goin' to hold steady on to you, an' I know you'll see me through.'" |
Quote #8 “I can't die but once." |
Quote #9 “I've heard 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' read, and I tell you Mrs. Stowe's pen hasn't begun to paint what slavery is as I have seen it at the far South. I've seen de real thing, and I don't want to see it on no stage or in no theater." |
Quote #10 “I grew up like a neglected weed - ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it." |
Quote #11 “I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other." |
Quote #12 “Never wound a snake; kill it." |
Quote #13 “I would fight for my liberty so long as my strength lasted, and if the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me." |
Quote #14 “You'll be free or die!" |
Quote #15 “Lord, I'm going to hold steady on to You and You've got to see me through." |
Quote #16 “Quakers almost as good as colored. They call themselves friends and you can trust them every time." |
Quote #17 “'Pears like I prayed all the time, 'bout my work, everywhere, I prayed an' groaned to the Lord." |
Quote #18 “Why, der language down dar in de far South is jus' as different from ours in Maryland, as you can think. Dey laughed when dey heard me talk, an' I could not understand 'dem, no how." |
Quote #19 “Read my letter to the old folks, and give my love to them, and tell my brothers to be always watching unto prayer, and when the good old ship of Zion comes along, to be ready to step aboard." |
Quote #20 "Most of those coming from the mainland are very destitute, almost naked. I am trying to find places for those able to work, and provide for them as best I can, so as to lighten the burden on the Government as much as possible, while at the same time they learn to respect themselves by earning their own living." |
Quote #21 “I think there's many a slaveholder'll get to Heaven. They don't know better. They acts up to the light they have." |
Quote #22 “Now I've been free, I know what a dreadful condition slavery is. I have seen hundreds of escaped slaves, but I never saw one who was willing to go back and be a slave." |
Quote #23 “I think slavery is the next thing to hell. If a person would send another into bondage, he would, it appears to me, be bad enough to send him into hell if he could." |
Quote #24 I had two sisters carried away in a chain-gang - one of them left two children. We were always uneasy." |
Quote #25 “I never had anything good, no sweet, no sugar; and that sugar, right by me, did look so nice, and my mistress's back was turned to me while she was fighting with her husband, so I just put my fingers in the sugar bowl to take one lump, and maybe she heard me, for she turned and saw me. The next minute, she had the rawhide down." |
Quote #26 “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." |
Quote #27 “Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going." |
Quote #28 “I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves." |
Quote #29 “God’s time is always near. He set the North Star in the heavens; He gave me the strength in my limbs; He meant I should be free." |
Quote #30 “Farewell, ole Maser, don’t think hard of me, I’m going on to Canada, where all the slaves are free." |
Quote #31 “I have heard their groans and sighs, and seen their tears, and I would give every drop of blood in my veins to free them." |
Harriet Tubman escaped from her life of slavery, once free she took on the role of freeing others. She lived during the time when Abraham Lincoln was President. The unselfish attitude of this abolition pioneer should serve as a great motivator for those who feel trapped and enslaved in some way, may her quotes inspire all.