She was strongly motivated by her faith
Tubman’s decision to risk her life going back for family members is understandable enough. However, she then went back to the South to free more slaves – almost all of them complete strangers to her. As Tubman herself revealed later, it was her strong Christian faith, instilled in her while she was a young girl growing up on a slave plantation, that motivated her brave actions.
Ever since she was a child, Tubman claimed to have experienced vivid dreams, which she saw as messages from God. She also claimed to have seen visions. All this, along with her close reading of the New Testament, convinced her had a duty to help those still enslaved. What’s more, slaves who traveled the Underground Railroad guided by Tubman would reveal that, at points along the way, she would confer with God. Some even noted that, while many people got sick on the long, perilous journey, Tubman never did – something that again was interpreted as a sign of divine intervention.
In later life, Tubman devoted herself to her beloved church. Using what little money she had, and then the Civil War pension she was finally granted, she funded the construction of the Thompson African Methodist Episcopal Church, a movement that was initially founded by one-time slave Richard Allen. The church finally opened its doors in 1891. Upon her death, Tubman lay in state there for several day. The church still stands today, a living testament to Tubman’s unwavering faith.