Abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, in 1822. She suffered extreme abuse – including a traumatic head injury – by her enslavers and was in her mid-20s before she escaped slavery in 1849 by heading for Philadelphia. Over time, she returned to Maryland to rescue her family, and eventually other enslaved people, from the clutches of their enslavers. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required that all free, formerly enslaved people be returned to their enslavers and imposed fines of $1,000 and six months of jail time on those accused of assisting “fugitives” find their freedom. This compelled Tubman to help escapees make their way farther north into British North America, which eventually became known as Canada, to establish their lives and find work there.
Tubman helped abolitionist John Brown plan a raid on Harper’s Ferry with the hopes of inciting an armed revolt against slavery; however, the effort was suppressed by the U.S. Marines and Robert E. Lee, the latter eventually becoming a pivotal Confederate figure in the Civil War. During the bloody conflict that divided the nation, Tubman served as a cook and nurse in the Union Army, eventually becoming a spy and armed scout. One of Tubman’s many defining moments was a mission she led at Combahee Ferry during the war that freed more than 700 enslaved people. In later years, Tubman was involved in the women’s suffrage movement. She died on March 13, 1913, in Auburn, New York, in her very early 90s.
A pioneering icon of courage, freedom, and hope, Tubman left a legacy that inspired so many who came along after her to champion for freedom and equality. Her tireless, selfless acts of heroism as a proverbial conductor on the Underground Railroad – the network of secret passageways and safehouses that helped enslaved people reach freedom in the North – earned Tubman the nickname “Moses.” She inspired the likes of Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others who fought for equality, civil rights, and human rights. It’s little wonder that Tubman has long been considered a fitting figure to honor on United States money; her name emerged in the late 1970s as one of many patriotic women considered for an appearance on the so-called “mini dollar” that, upon the coin’s debut in 1979, carried the portrait of Tubman’s fellow suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony.
A longtime grassroots campaign has centered on placing a portrait of Tubman on the front of the United States $20 bill. Those efforts gathered steam in the 2010s and continue to move forward; a redesigned $20 featuring Tubman on the front and moving the denomination’s current main portrait of President Andrew Jackson to the back may appear sometime around 2030. Meanwhile, Tubman has at least made one appearance on U.S. money with the 2024 Harriet Tubman commemorative coins that were released to honor her 200th birthday. Three different designs honoring Tubman appeared on a commemorative clad half dollar, silver dollar, and $5 gold coin across uncirculated and proof strikes, providing a total of six different commemorative issues. Whether or not Tubman makes other appearances on coinage, U.S. paper money, or other platforms, she will always remain a figure of courage and hope, inspiring generations to come to keep their eyes on the prize and fight the good fight.