Christian Nunes Harriet Tubman was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, with a record of never losing a single passenger on the road to freedom from slavery. She aided the Civil War effort as a Union spy, scout, cook and battlefield nurse, and in 1863 she led an armed raid that freed 700 slaves in South Carolina â making her the first woman ever to lead a U.S. military expedition. In contrast, Andrew Jackson owned 95 enslaved people before he became president, and brought 14 of them to the White House. He signed into law the Indian Removal Act, forcing tribes off their own lands and onto the âTrail of Tearsâ â an action that is now frequently referenced as a forced death march.