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I had reasoned dis out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death; if I could not have one, I would have de oder; for no man should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted, and when de time came for me to go, de Lord would let dem take me.

— Harriet Tubman Harriet, The Moses of Her People (1886)

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Modernized rendition: I had reasoned this out in my mind; there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive; I should fight for my liberty as long as my strength lasted, and when the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me.

Notes from Wikiquote

The phrase "Liberty or Death" is a slogan made famous during the independence struggle of several countries.

Topics

Freedom

More quotes by Harriet Tubman

Oh, Lord! You've been wid me in six troubles, don't desert me in the seventh!

Harriet, The Moses of Her People (1886)

I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say — I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.

Women's Words : The Columbia Book of Quotations by Women (1996)

I had crossed the line of which I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom, I was a stranger in a strange land.

I looked at my hands, to see if I was de same person now I was free. Dere was such a glory over everything, de sun came like gold trou de trees, and over de fields, and I felt like I was in heaven.

Harriet, The Moses of Her People (1886)

I looked at my hands, to see if I was the same person now I was free. There was such a glory over everything, the sun came like gold through the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in heaven.

All Harriet Tubman quotes →

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Harriet Tubman (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.