Harriet Tubman: Myth, Memory, and History [Paperback]

Milton C. Sernett (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0822340739 | ISBN-13: 978-0822340737 | Publication Date: November 5, 2007

Harriet Tubman is one of America’s most beloved historical figures, revered alongside luminaries including Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Harriet Tubman: Myth, Memory, and History tells the fascinating story of Tubman’s life as an American icon. The distinguished historian Milton C. Sernett compares the larger-than-life symbolic Tubman with the actual “historical” Tubman. He does so not to diminish Tubman’s achievements but rather to explore the interplay of history and myth in our national consciousness. Analyzing how the Tubman icon has changed over time, Sernett shows that the various constructions of the “Black Moses” reveal as much about their creators as they do about Tubman herself.

Three biographies of Harriet Tubman were published within months of each other in 2003–04; they were the first book-length studies of the “Queen of the Underground Railroad” to appear in almost sixty years. Sernett examines the accuracy and reception of these three books as well as two earlier biographies first published in 1869 and 1943. He finds that the three recent studies come closer to capturing the “real” Tubman than did the earlier two. Arguing that the mythical Tubman is most clearly enshrined in stories told to and written for children, Sernett scrutinizes visual and textual representations of “Aunt Harriet” in children’s literature. He looks at how Tubman has been portrayed in film, painting, music, and theater; in her Maryland birthplace; in Auburn, New York, where she lived out her final years; and in the naming of schools, streets, and other public venues. He also investigates how the legendary Tubman was embraced and represented by different groups during her lifetime and at her death in 1913. Ultimately, Sernett contends that Harriet Tubman may be America’s most malleable and resilient icon.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Rather than offer another biography of the woman most famous as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, historian Sernett explores how Tubman, a former slave, has grown in historical stature to the level of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Analyzing several of the biographies that have been written about Tubman—including books aimed at children—Sernett shows how the ebb and flow of politics and culture push individuals into obscurity or elevate them into prominence. In the most recent past, Tubman’s life has captured the American imagination and revived interest to the point where there have been efforts to have the U.S. Congress grant her veteran status for her service in the Union Army and approve a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor. America’s canonization of Tubman has reflected the changes in social mores and the nation’s self-image as it has come to accept and appreciate a woman who defied notions about the place of blacks and women during slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. --Vanessa Bush --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“In this brilliant study, Milton C. Sernett peels back layers of memory regarding both real and imagined events to reveal the fascinating interplay of cultural, political, and social forces that have contributed to Harriet Tubman’s near-mythic status. With graceful prose and nuanced analysis, he describes the literary and artistic productions that have shaped our understanding of Tubman over the past one hundred and fifty years: productions that reflect an ever-evolving process of memory and mythmaking by generations of Americans in pursuit of meaningful cultural and historical icons.”—Kate Clifford Larson, author of Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero

“The product of painstaking research, Milton C. Sernett’s book offers a comprehensive description and analysis of the processes by which the historical former slave woman became an iconic figure with shifting and contested significance for multiple audiences during her own long life and into the twenty-first century. In addition to presenting valuable facts for admirers and historians of Harriet Tubman, Milton C. Sernett uses her example to pose vital questions about the functions, varieties, and tenacity of heroic mythmaking in the lives of communities and nations.”—Jean M. Humez, author of Harriet Tubman: The Life and the Life Stories

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Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press Books (November 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822340739
• ISBN-13: 978-0822340737
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,512,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clarifying Tubman, June 20, 2009

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David W. Connelly (Auburn, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Harriet Tubman: Myth, Memory, and History (Paperback)

I occasionally lead bus tours to the Harriet Tubman Home complex, so I thought I knew a lot about her. Sernett's "Harriet Tubman: Myth, Memory, and History" surprised me with a realm of Tubman history I had barely even though about.

Sernett, an emeritus professor of African-American studies at Syracuse University, has written a lucid, thoughtful, fascinating book that reveals how we Americans have thought and still think about Tubman.

It's a story about her and the people who framed her story from their own prejudices and purposes, and about our American racial stereotypes and prejudices.

As heartbreaking as it is to read how the Auburn, New York, community treated her during the last decades of her life, but my admiration for her grows as I realize that despite such treatment she marched along selflessly, lovingly and forgivingly.

It's no wonder Tubman's fame continues to grow.