Harriet Tubman Essay: Topics, Outline, & Ideas

In a Harriet Tubman essay, you can explore the life and legacy of one of the most inspiring figures in American history. An abolitionist, political activist, and the “American Moses,” Tubman was born into slavery, escaped its horrors, and devoted her life to freeing others. As a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, she led about 13 rescue missions, saving 70 people. Her tireless efforts and accomplishments extended to roles as a nurse, spy, and advocate for women’s suffrage.

When crafting an essay about Harriet Tubman, there are many things to write about, including her early life, her achievements, and her impact on abolition and civil rights. We recommend structuring your work as a 5-paragraph essay with a strong outline to organize your thoughts properly. Begin with a compelling topic sentence about Harriet Tubman or a question like “What inspired Tubman’s courage?” and “How did her efforts shape American history?”

Read on to get tips for your Harriet Tubman essay, its introduction, conclusion, and thesis statement. You’ll also find here topic ideas and questions to inspire your essay.

📚 Harriet Tubman Essay: Where to Start

There are many ways in which you can write a paper. This part of the article will focus on the structure for the 5-paragraph essay on Harriet Tubman. Further down, you will learn how you can use this outline and fill it with content.

A standard essay structure looks like this:

• Introduction

The introduction should move from general information to more specific. You should start by presenting the topic. For instance, for your Harriet Tubman essay, you can give some initial information:

The next part of your Harriet Tubman essay introduction should prepare the reader for the thesis statement. It can be a sentence, a rhetoric question, or a quote with a brief explanation of your position.

• Thesis Statement

A thesis statement tells the reader what your position is. Try to find some aspect of the topic that you can argue in the paper. A thesis statement for the essay about Harriet Tubman can be something provocative, like saying she influenced the American Civil War outcome.

• Body

This section is where you provide arguments for your position and develop a discussion. It is a way to demonstrate your knowledge of the material and ability to make connections. Find examples from Harriet Tubman’s biography to prove her importance to American history.

• Conclusion

In Harriet Tubman essay conclusion, you should restate your answer to the question. Give a summary of the main point and make a final statement. Remember that the last paragraph should not have any new ideas or information.

Now let’s move to Harriet Tubman essay prompts!

🔖 Harriet Tubman: Essay Prompts

Writing a paper becomes a real challenge when you aren’t sure what to write about. In this section, learn how to start and develop your essay on one of the proposed topics.

🔸 Essay Prompt #1

If you are short on time but want to write an excellent essay on Harriet Tubman, use the following outline.

• Start with general information about Mrs. Tubman. Recollect everything learned in class and carry out additional research to introduce new facts. Explain in the introductory paragraph of your Harriet Tubman essay why you are writing about her.
• Tell about some significant periods and events in her life. It can be the body paragraphs of your essay on Harriet Tubman. Do not forget to include info about how she helped slaves escape, her participation in the American Civil War, etc.
• In the concluding paragraph, summarize everything said. Explain what you find the most impressive about Harriet’s life and deeds and restate your thesis.

Check out Harriet Tubman essay examples to ensure your structure and reasoning are as good as they can be.

🔸 Essay Prompt #2

You can be more creative when writing your Harriet Tubman essay if you have time for that. Try to answer the following questions in your paper:

• What is your definition of freedom?
• Can you think of anything that you would give away your freedom for?
• What would you do to escape if you were a slave?
• If you were a slave, would you trust Harriet Tubman and follow her?

🔸 Essay Prompt #3

If you need to write an essay about your role model or an inspirational person in your life, you can use Harriet Tubman for that. Just follow these five steps:

1. Identify your role model’s impact on you. Remember to make it personal even though it is about Harriet Tubman. Think about the qualities you admire in her. You can focus on her sense of justice and love of freedom. It would be best if you also wrote about how these qualities played out in your life. Maybe you decided to act courageously or fight injustice.
2. Have a main focused point. The reader should understand what you’re trying to say. Try to think about one or two main points of the essay. You can find several interesting facts from Harriet Tubman’s life to write about. For instance, the fact that she was born into slavery and helped others to escape it.
3. Illustrate your points with suitable examples. Every good essay should have examples. There are plenty of facts and stories that demonstrate how strong Harriet Tubman was.
4. The finish on a memorable note. Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist and social reformer. She was so successful in her efforts to freedom that she called herself “Moses.”
5. Read it once again. Read your essay out loud and ask your friends and family to read it too. Ask them if the paper shows how Harriet Tubman has influenced you.

🗂️ Harriet Tubman: Essay Topics

In this section of the article, you will find 50 essay topics. These ideas can help you greatly to write an outstanding paper about Harriet Tubman.

1. The role of Harriet Tubman in US history. Not only she led 300 slaves out of slavery, but she helped to defeat slavery in the United States as an institution. In your essay, you can speak about her achievements as an escaped enslaved woman who became a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
2. How did Harriet Tubman change the world? Her historical significance goes far beyond American History. She is indeed a hero in every sense of this word.
3. Free African Americans in the United States before the abolition. Talk about free African Americans in the IS in the Antebellum Period. How did they live? What were the ways to get freedom? How did Harriet Tubman get her liberty?
4. Fight against slavery. >In this essay, you can write about how Harriet Tubman fought slavery before, during, and after the Civil War.
5. A role model for Black Feminism. Elaborate on the concept of Black Feminism and what makes it different. Then discuss Harriet Tubman’s role in it.
6. An underground railroad. In this essay, speak about the political background of the railroad, as well as its structure and the routes.
7. Harriet Tubman Role in the Civil War. Not many people know that Tubman worked as the Union Army nurse, a cook, and a spy during the Civil War. Her experience and knowledge helped in organizing the operations too.
8. Harriet Tubman Life after the Underground Railroad. The woman had a very long life. She lived until 1913. Talk about her participation in the Civil War and her work in the suffragist movement.
9. What challenges did Harriet Tubman face? She faced many challenges in her life: the legal prospect of imprisonment, health problems, the possibility of re-enslavement. Nevertheless, she never gave up on her courageous work.
10. Harriet Tubman’s Biography. This essay can tell the significant events in her life. She had a long and fruitful life, and you can try to tell her story engagingly.
11. Harriet Tubman as a famous African-American female leader.
12. The influence of Harriet Tubman on African American history.
13. Explore the role of women in the Civil War.
14. The life of African Americans after abolition of slavery.
15. Describe the most famous activists of the abolitionist movement.
16. The role of free African American women during slavery.
17. Can Harriet Tubman be considered as a role model for modern Americans?
18. How did Harriet Tubman help African Americans to escape slavery?
19. Harriet Tubman as one of the leaders of abolitionist movement.
20. Life and work of Harriet Tubman after the Civil War.
21. Causes of the Civil War in the United States.
22. How the abolition of slavery changed the lives of African Americans.
23. Is racism the consequence of slavery?
24. Discuss the connection between slavery and discrimination in the modern world.
25. The role of African American soldiers in the Civil War.
26. Analyze the beginning of the period of slavery in America.
27. Describe the connection between abolitionist and women’s right movement.
28. Examine the peculiarities of abolitionist movement and its ideology.
29. How the Antebellum Period encouraged propagation of slavery.
30. The status of African Americans during and after the Civil War.
31. The effect of the Compromise of 1850 on slavery.
32. Discuss the specifics of plantation slavery in the Southern States.
33. The role of Harriet Tubman in inspiring the slaves to escape.
34. Evolution of civil rights for African Americans from the Civil War to the present day.
35. The relationship between religion and slavery.
36. How did Harriet Tubman manage to escape slavery?
37. How were women treated during slavery in the North American colonies?
38. Analyze the significance of Harriet Tubman as the first female in the US history that served in the military during the Civil War.
39. Harriet Tubman’s participation in the woman suffrage movement.
40. The significant impact of black women-activists on the Civil War.
41. Was the Civil War really a fight for freedom and equality?
42. Describe the events that led to the end of slavery.
43. The origin of the woman suffrage movement in the US.
44. Describe the qualities of Harriet Tubman you admire.
45. Harriet Tubman’s role as the Underground Railroad conductor.
46. How the concept of slavery is harmful to both the slaves and the slaveholders.
47. Discuss the change in feminist movement ideology since 19^th century.
48. Gender and slavery in American history.
49. Analyze the role of Harriet Tubman as one of the first feminist movement activists among African American women.
50. Describe how the personality of Harriet Tubman influenced you.

Essays on the American Civil War and papers on slavery can inspire you as well.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article and you found it helpful. Now you know how to write an essay on Harriet Tubman. Share it with your friends and peers who may need our tips. Good luck with your paper!

Further reading:

• Coral Reef Essay: Descriptive Writing How-to Guide
• Best Descriptive Essays That Win Top Marks
• Americanism Essay Writing: How-to Guide, Tips, Topics
• Halloween Essay: How to Write, Topics and Essay Ideas

🔗 References

1. Write Your Essay: UNSW Sydney, Current Students
2. How to Write An Essay: Centre for Critical Development Studies, University of Toronto Scarborough
3. Harriet Tubman Essay: Bartleby
4. How to Write a College Paper: Vralerie Fernandez, Juliana Morro, Writing Center, Villanova University
5. Harriet Tubman Timeline: University at Buffalo