Today in History—April 20: Honoring Harriet Tubman’s Legacy

Nobody knows for certain when Harriet Tubman’s work on the Underground Railroad began. While many historians now believe she became a “conductor” on the hidden network that helped deliver hundreds of enslaved people to freedom in December 1850—and not on April 20, 1853, as is sometimes cited—April 20 is still an essential date in Tubman’s legacy.

On this day in 2016, the U.S. treasury secretary announced plans to put an image of the famed abolitionist on the $20 bill, replacing Andrew Jackson—a slave owner.

A decade later, the status of that legislation remains uncertain. Tubman’s impact, however, is clear.

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In 1849 Tubman escaped enslavement in Maryland with the assistance of the Underground Railroad. And then she did something extraordinary: She went back.

After she settled in Pennsylvania—and into safety—she made the decision to return to Maryland, repeatedly risking her life and freedom to guide others out of slavery, starting with her own family.

Neither a railroad nor underground, the Underground Railroad was a coordinated network of safe houses and waypoints for relaying enslaved people to the relative safety of the Northern states. It required secrecy, strategy, and savvy “conductors” to lead the way.

Given the very real risk to all those involved, both conductors and riders, it’s hard to pin down exact details about the Underground Railroad. But it existed prior to Tubman’s escape, and historians generally date her first rescue mission as a conductor to December 1850.

Few moments in Tubman’s journeys are documented with certainty, but the pattern is clear: Over the course of a decade, Tubman made at least 13 journeys, leading about 70 people to freedom, including her parents, brothers, friends, and other family members. She became the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad and has been called “the Moses of her people.”

Her work didn’t end there. She served as a spy for the Union Army and a nurse during the Civil War, and she spent years advocating for women’s suffrage.

In March 2025 a new congressional bill—the Woman on the Twenty Act—was proposed to replace the long-floundered one to put Tubman’s likeness on U.S. currency. It stipulated that the $20 bills would be printed no later than 2031. The status of this proposal also remains uncertain.

It’s unclear whether Tubman’s image will ever grace our currency—but it should.

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