Fun Fact: Though Tubman was widely known and admired during her lifetime, she was often poor, even penniless. She didn't receive any compensation for her service to her country during the Civil War, and the consequence of all the time she spent on humanitarian work was that she had little time to devote to a paying job. To make matters worse, she lost $2,000 to con men in 1873 – the equivalent of more than $50,000 today.