Harriet Beecher Stoowe's Life

Harriet Beecher Stowe is most famously regarded as being the author of anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. However, before publishing this famous novel, she started off writing short stories and newspaper articles that were not nearly of the same caliber as Uncle Tom’s Cabin. When she was still just known as Harriet Elizabeth Beecher, she was inspired to become a writer by the vibrant literary culture in her hometown of Litchfield, Connecticut (Joan D. Hedrick "Stowe 's Life and Uncle Tom 's Cabin" par. 3). At the age of 21, Harriet Beecher and her large family relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio, due to her father’s new role as president of Lane Theological Seminary, a training school for Presbyterian ministers (“Lyman Beecher”). Four years

Additionally, in the same letter that referenced her editorial on the Cincinnati Riot, Harriet Beecher Stowe also wrote to Calvin, “His [Birney’s] piece is, I think, a powerful one; indeed, he does write very strongly. I am quite proud of his editorials; they are well studied, earnest, and dignified. I think he will make a first-rate writer (Stowe & Stowe Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe compiled from her letters and journals 2010 pg. 82). While Stowe does not explicitly state that she is an abolitionist and against slavery or that she was completely infuriated by the riots, she did express her support for James Birney and she praised his editorials and how well written they were. Stowe also acknowledged the magnitude of what Birney wrote about and the magnitude of the events in Cincinnati taking place at this time. Stowe further shows her support for Birney and suggests that she is an abolitionist when she writes, “For my part, I can easily see how such proceedings may make converts to abolitionism, for already my sympathies are strongly enlisted for Mr. Birney, and I hope that he will stand his ground and assert his rights” (Stowe & Stowe Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe compiled from her letters and journals 2010 pg. 82). Stowe even goes as far to offer advice and suggestions as to what measures Birney should take to protect himself and his office when she writes, “The office is fire-proof, and inclosed by high walls. I wish he would man it with armed men and see what can be

In conclusion, the Cincinnati Riots of 1836 greatly influenced Harriet Beecher Stowe and her views and beliefs on slavery. However, at the time, Stowe was against slavery, but she was not a declared abolitionist. Therefore, she was unnerved and slightly angry by the events of the Cincinnati Riots, but she was not completely infuriated by them in that moment. It was later on in Stowe’s life when she realized the true magnitude of the wrongdoings of the riots. In a letter written by Harriet Beecher Stowe speaking about the Cincinnati Riots, Stowe writes, “No one can have the system of slavery brought before him without an irrepressible desire to do something, and what is there to be done?” (Stowe & Stowe Harriet Beecher Stowe: the story of her life 2012 pg. 108). This shows that she did not know how to end the institution of slavery in 1836 and that she felt useless, but little did she know that she would eventually write a best-selling book that portrayed her emotions towards slavery, captured the world’s attention, and made other people view slavery differently (Biography.com Editors "Harriet Beecher Stowe"