Harriet Tubman is one of the giants of American history-a fearless visionary who led scores of her fellow slaves to freedom and battled courageously behind enemy lines during the Civil War. And yet in the century since her death, next to nothing has been written about this extraordinary woman aside from juvenile biographies. The truth about Harriet Tubman has become lost inside a legend woven of racial and gender stereotypes. Now at last, historian Kate Clifford Larson gives Harriet Tubman the powerful, intimate, meticulously detailed biography she deserves. Drawing from a trove of new documents and sources as well extensive genealogical research, Larson reveals Tubman as a complex woman. The descendant of the vibrant, matrilineal Asante people of the African Gold Coast, Tubman was born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of Maryland but refused to spend her life in bondage. While still a young woman she embarked on a perilous journey of self-liberation-and then, having won her own freedom, she returned again and again to liberate family and friends, tapping into the Underground Railroad. Yet despite her success, her celebrity, and her close ties with Northern politicians and abolitionists, Tubman suffered crushing physical pain and emotional setbacks. Stripping away myths and misconceptions, Larson presents stunning new details about Tubman's accomplishments, personal life, and influence. Here too are Tubman's twilight years after the war, when she worked for women's rights and in support of her fellow blacks, and when racist politicians and suffragists marginalized her contribution. Harriet Tubman, her life, and her work remain an inspiration to all who value freedom. Now, thanks to Larson's breathtaking biography, we can finally appreciate Tubman as a complete human being-an American hero, yes, but also a woman who loved, suffered, and sacrificed. Bound for the Promised Land is a magnificent work of biography, history, and truth telling. |Introduction1. Life on the Chesapeake in Black and White2. Sweet Gum and Prickly Burrs: The Changing World of the Eastern Shore3. "Devilish" Mistresses and Harsh Masters: Black Family Life under the Lash4. "Shadow of a Voice in the Talking Leaves": The Hidden World of Black Communication5. "Mean to Be Free": The Fragile Light of Liberty6. All for the Love of Family7. Stampede of Slaves8. Moses Meets John Brown9. Fractured Family10. It Was Raining Blood: Harriet Tubman's Civil War11. A Hero Is Remembered12. Myth and Memory13. Mother Tubman, the Black Joan of Arc