Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a classic novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 that has profoundly impacted American literature and history. The novel was a bestseller at its publication and played a significant role in shaping public opinion on slavery in the United States. Uncle Tom's Cabin has been praised for its vivid portrayal of the harsh realities of slavery and its powerful critique of the institution. However, it has also been criticized for perpetuating certain stereotypes about African Americans. So why did Uncle Tom’s Cabin have a massive impact on the Union leading up to the civil war? First, let's start with the history of the author. Harriet, at the age of 7, was very talented in writing, with winning an award in a
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Using the real struggles of slaves in her story for her readers to see the reason slavery should be abolished and is morally wrong. “Stowe’s vivid characters and portrayal of their struggles opened reader’s eyes to the realities of slavery and the humanity of enslaved people. Stowe hoped the novel would build empathy for the characters and, in turn, for enslaved individuals. Stowe’s candor on the controversial subject of slavery encouraged others to speak out, further eroding the already precarious relations between northern and southern states and advancing the nation’s march toward Civil War." (Stowe Center). By this time, the tensions between the North and South were very high and war was close to breaking out. The election of Lincoln is when the turning point of war was nearing, as the South didn’t want him to take their slaves away. And so in retaliation, they broke off from the Union creating the Confederacy. “ With the election of President Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the crisis came to a head as some Southern states seceded from the Union. Many white Southerners feared that slavery, “the peculiar institution” upon which their economy depended, would be eradicated. The brutal four-year war that followed almost destroyed the United States. When Stowe visited President Lincoln at the White House in 1862, he is reported to have said, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” This statement, regardless of its truth, testifies to Uncle Tom’s Cabin’s impact.” (Stowe
Stowe implies that Christianity that denounces the immortality of slavery, which leads those who support the institution isolated. Uncle Tom’s cabin is also based on a slave who struggled during slavery and eventually escaped to Canada. By relating slavery through the eyes of a slave itself and by focusing on the ones struggle to find freedom for not only herself but her child made Stowe’s book did so much more than try to persuade people to oppose slavery but made a heart touching story for anyone struggling to fight for their own freedom.
Her family’s abolitionists beliefs and activity in the “ Underground Railroad” directed her to where she was in 1852 when she wrote a novel telling the stories of three slaves that would split the country into controversy. Uncle Tom’s Cabin told the stories of Uncle Tom, Eliza, and George. In her book Harriet displayed the struggles of runaway slaves and the troubles black slaves had to face everyday with slavery. In only two weeks it’s popularity had grew and it became the outbreak of the nation.
In document C, the white men criticize Stowe’s book, and explain the errors and flaws of the book. In document H, the positive book reviews of the northern men show how they agree with Stowe’s views of anti-slavery.
Harriet Beecher Stowe strongly disproved the lies the South had through the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Stowe explained throughout her book the true struggles of a slave and how slaves were treated in the South. Stowe's book was directed toward the North to inform them that the South's political
One of the most understated, yet powerful, causes of the Civil War was the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Harriet
where she met Abraham Lincoln. Stowe book uncle tomś cabin played a significant role in accelerating the movement to abolish slavery in the United States. Stowe goal was to write something that would make this whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery. Stowe's books told stories of people treated as property personalizing slavery like its never be done before. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote over 30 novels .
The book had a strong ability to get readers to feel the same emotion as slaves and to display how families were affected by
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was very successful and sold a lot in other countries too. It made many people to support the abolitionist cause. In the South, people were outraged and accused Stowe of making up the treatment of slaves. In eighteen fifty-three, Harriet Beecher Stowe responded with a book called A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin which was all facts to support her book (Dimpsey). With this, she showed that slavery was even worse than how she wrote about it in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Translated into countless languages, Uncle Tom’s Cabin flew off shelves and became a worldwide read. After the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law, an outraged Stowe set out to share the tales in hopes of alerting the North. Uncle Tom’s Cabin highlighted the cruel treatment of slaves; ranging from beatings to children being snatched from their mother’s arms. The publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin fanned the flames of the North- South conflict, contributing to sectionalism. As a result, the amount of Northern abolitionists multiplied.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of Harriet Beecher Stowe and the reasoning behind publishing her book on slavery. Harriet Beecher Stowe impacted America socially and politically by polarizing the anti-slavery movement through her book ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’, which forced America to see the need for change. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ also known as ‘Life Among the Lowly,’ depicted life under slavery through the eyes of Uncle Tom, whose real name was Josiah Henson. He was a slave from the time he was born until he was whipped to death after refusing to reveal the location of two runaway slaves. Stowe came in contact with many fugitive slaves and learned about life in the
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin certainly attacks slavery as hard as Brown’s raid did, but it targeted pre-existing sentiments for its Northern audience. Lines such as, “Ain’t yer mine now body and soul?” (doc 2) filled Northerners with a sympathy toward slaves and anger at slaveholders that was different from their previous practical economic arguments. Anti-slavery feelings had already been present in the North before Stowe’s book but they found an outlet there and grew. The tensions created by Stowe’s book certainly led to the war: when Lincoln met her he said, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war,” but it only lent fuel to a fire that was already
Stowe’s piece gave people a different perspective about slavery in the South. In fact, the impact was so strong, it caused protests and expanded the abolitionist community. Both the North and South reacted powerfully, but in different ways. The South criticized the book, especially supporters and owners of slaves. There was a variety of responses in the North.
Stowe used some of her own experiences and feelings to write the novel. The story humanizes slavery by portraying the lives of individuals and families. She describes the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse that enslaved people were forced to
The Fugitive Slave Act, friction within friction, authorized local governments to seize and return escaped slaves to their owners and imposed penalties on anyone who aided in their escape or obstructed their search, with fines up to $1000 and six months in jail. Due to these stricter laws, Harriet Beecher Stowe became enraged at the fact that she was being forced to heed to a law and practice she deemed immoral and unjust. Stowe reciprocated with her novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Her novel elicited feelings for human empathy, it showed northerners how slaves were really treated. Also, it solidified for Northerners, who may have been on the fence about slavery, that they were strictly against this inhumane treatment of fellow humans.
When Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin because she wanted to stir up an anti-slavery statement. Slavery was already the unpopular choice for Northerners, but Harriet Beecher Stowe made the Northerners even more opposed to slavery. Slavery even became less popular in the Southern states. The novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin made many Northerners realize how unjust slavery was for the first time, and increased the differences between the North and the South.