What Impact Did Harriet Beecher Stowe And Hinton Helper Have On The Conflict Over Slavery?

The anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe was written at a time when slavery was a largely common practice among Americans. It not only helped lay the foundation for the Civil War but also contained many themes that publicized the evil of slavery to all people. The book contains themes such as the moral power of women, human right, and many more. The most important theme Stowe attempts to portray to readers is the incompatibility of slavery and Christianity. She makes it very clear that she does not believe slavery and Christianity can coexist and that slavery is against all Christian morals. She believes no Christian should allow the existence or practice of slavery.

When Harriet Beecher Stowe published her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, in 1852, the Southerners reacted by defending their way of life. They claimed that Stowe was exaggerating, and that the way they were portrayed in the book was false. “Didn’t I pay down twelve hundred dollars, cash, for all there is inside yer old cussed blackshell? An’t yer mine now body and soul?... we’ll see-we’ll see!... give this dog such a breakin’ in as he won’t get over this month!” (Doc C). Over 300,000 copies were sold in the first year of circulation, proving to be the most popular book in the 19th century. Abraham Lincoln greeted Stowe, the first time they met in 1862, by saying there is “the little women who wrote the book that made this great war.” Uncle Tom’s Cabin unveiled all the details that the South tried to cover up, and just added fuel to the abolitionist’s claims and protest.

Harriet Beecher Stowe is one of the most influential writers from the 19th century. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” brings up many ideals about history and culture. Stowe supports ideals of American exceptionalism such as slavery, christianity, and equality through earlier periods in American history. American identity has been created and explored in literature ranging from the days of the conquistadores and the early settlers to the middle of the nineteenth century. White Americans have had greater opportunities than anyone else since the beginning of time. This may seem racist, but it is the truth. In “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” the slave owners were all white. The slaves were African American. African-Americans weren’t allowed to own property, have their

that made the impossible, possible. Harriet Tubman, dedicated her life to freeing slaves and part

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a book called Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which brought up the horrible aspects of slavery into many Americans minds. She brought up many horrifying points about slavery and it is said to have inspired Northern abolitionists to protest against the Fugitive Slave act.

Harriet Beecher Stowe not only tried to abolish slavery before the Civil War by writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but also helped during the Civil War by help convincing President Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation(Haugen 82).When the Civil War started from the attack on Fort Sumter, Abraham Lincoln wanted to defeat the South as quickly as he could. Stowe had criticized Lincoln for not freeing the slaves since Lincoln didn’t include as part of his plan in defeating the rebels. She had a meeting with Lincoln in the White House. Stowe wanted to convince Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, which released slaves in the South from the seceded states. Lincoln had signed the

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, would present the evil and cruelty of slavery in the South, while The Impending Crisis of the South, by Hinton Helper, would present the economic instability of slavery in the South. All of these works were a major driving force for northerners to oppose slavery, and they even discouraged the British to help the South. Some abolitionists, like John Brown, even resorted to violence to oppose slavery. Brown led a raid in

The 1830s marked a drastic change in character in activists, when instances went from being small and ineffective, to great, nation-changing campaigns. The abolitionists’ movements after the 1830s irrefutably had huge impacts in the United States in various aspects, aspects such as politics, society/equality, and even in culture. The abolitionists were more fervent in their expression of disproval with slavery, and many abolitionist icons expressed themselves through literature. William Lloyd Garrison and Fredrick Douglass along with their publications in the newspaper, the Liberator, sparked a flame against slavery in the hearts of many Americans that may have had either a neutral position or even a proslavery opinion thus turning the tides towards abolition. Another person who, through literacy, aided in the strengthening of the abolitionist party was Harriet Beacher Stowe with her publication of the illustrious novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” This book not only changed the views of countless people but also influenced the literary aspect of the nation, for to

Harriet Beecher Stowe, an abolitionist, wrote this book to expose the suffering of many slaves in a fictional story. Many southerners spoke out to undermine Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and on the other hand, many Northerners spoke out to say how good of a work it is. The Southerners disliked it because the book says terrible things about their slave system that they have practiced. An anonymous author wrote in The Daily Dispatch, “There seems to be no end to the expedients which the fanatics of the North are determined to resort to, to disturb the peace of the country.” This showed that the Southerners thought of Uncle Tom’s Cabin as an anti-slavery attack on their way of life. More people will be educated about the labor system and stop favoring the south’s beliefs as the abolitionist work becomes increasingly more popular. Uncle Tom’s Cabin helped sectionalism cause the American Civil War. This sparked dissension due to the fact that each side had opposite beliefs on Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The South was being attacked by those who favor the North more. This book educated many people and convinced many to stop siding with the interests of the

In her book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs is a slave that was born into slavery in 1813 that has decided to share her amazing story of slavery and her struggles to become free. When she was young her parents were “property” of a really nice lady that allowed her family to have a very comfortable life for a slave family. They were allowed to work for their own money and Harriet did not know that she was a slave for until she was twelve. When she was seven her master died and left her to her sister’s daughter who was five years old. She believed that it was not right to treat blacks in the way that whites did and that someone should not have to purchase themselves or their children. She believed that the whites were way too cruel. She eventually escaped to the north and eventually had someone purchase her freedom for her and her children. Reaching north, Harriet was relief and breath of freedom when she get out from the boat, not long after her arrival to the north she was reunited with her daughter and was ensured of her safety and good treatment she received. She found work in one house and find a friendship in the house she got work with a woman named Mr. Bruce who she was working for, her struggle in those days was been reduce, coming to the north would end all her painful sorrow and struggle. However, there is still another thing she

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Olaudah Equiano’s Narrative of his Life both endeavor to stir antislavery sentiment in predominantly white, proslavery readers. Each author uses a variety of literary tactics to persuade audiences that slavery is inhumane. Equiano uses vivid imagery and inserts personal experience to appeal to audiences, believing that a first-hand account of the varying traumas slaves encounter would affect change. Stowe relies on emotional connection between the readers and characters in her novel. By forcing her audience to have empathy for characters, thus forcing readers to confront the harsh realities of slavery, Stowe has the more effective approach to encouraging abolitionist sentiment in white readers.

     Published in the early 1850’s, Uncle Tom’s Cabin had a huge impact on our nation and contributed to the tension over slavery. It was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a woman who was involved in religious and feminist causes. Stowe’s influence on the northern states was remarkable. Her fictional novel about slave life of her current time has been thought to be one of the main things that led up to the Civil War. The purpose of writing it, as is often said, was to expose the evils of slavery to the North where many were unaware of just what went on in the rest of the country. The book was remarkably successful and sold 300,000 copies by the end of its first year. It is even rumored that

The novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in the United States in 1852. The novel depicted slavery as a moral evil and was the cause of much controversy at the time and long after. Uncle Tom's Cabin outraged the South and received praise in the North. The publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin was a major turning point for the United States which helped bring about the Civil War.

As many people say history was written by the victors, we need to remember there would be no victors without the struggle and turmoil of those that lost. This is what Harriet Beecher Stowe’s compelling novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin has taught us in regards to the war on slavery. In the midst of the 1800’s, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote her best-selling novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, to address the various issues regarding race during this century. Throughout her novel, readers learn the lives of slaves, slave masters, and their families, which leads to the understanding of a unique lifestyle among the characters. As her novel is important in today’s society, it made an even greater impact during the nineteenth century as it portrays the ideology of the Civil War and the abolitionists.

For the most part, the North took a laissez faire approach to slavery that it would figure itself out eventually. However, there was a population of people who wanted to end slavery at all cost and they were called abolitionist. Harriet Beecher Stowe was an abolitionist and she published one of the best books in American history, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, in 1852. The book detailed the poor treatment of slaves and the depicted their everyday life. This depiction enraged many Northerners who were unaware of the horrible treatment slaves endured daily. Stowe based her depiction off runaway slaves who ran to the North and told their story as a slave. Runaway slaves were another inevitable aspect of the Civil War (Roark 481,484-485).