The Civil War between the Union and Confederacy divided the country against itself and changed people’s attitudes towards slavery forever. One of the key influences of the Civil War was a widely known and best-selling 1852 novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe called Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Harriet Beecher Stowe hated slavery and believed that it was an immoral and despicable act. To get people to realize the horrors of slavery during the Civil War, Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin about a man who suffers for refusing to obey his white masters. Even President Abraham Lincoln recognized Stowe as “the little lady who wrote a book that made the Civil War” (McPherson 90). Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin helped spark the fires between the Union …show more content…
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 called for any person, North or South, in contact with runaway slaves to help recapture them. This promoted slavery everywhere and Northerners, such as Stowe, were not happy. The Compromise of 1850 stated that if California was admitted as a free state causing the balance of power between the North and South to be destroyed, Congress would require anyone, anywhere to return runaway slaves under penalty of law. These acts infuriated Stowe, but at the same time, she felt powerless. Her sister-in-law encouraged her to express her feelings through a book by saying, "If I could use a pen as you can, Hatty, I would write something that would make this whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is" (McPherson 89). Stowe also unfortunately lost her child in infancy. This contributed to the writing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin because Stowe was able to connect the pain of losing her son, to the pain slave mothers suffered when their children were sold (Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Harriet Beecher Stowe-Uncle Tom’s Cabin; The Compromise of 1850; McPherson …show more content…
Henry James, a key figure in 19th-century literary realism, admired the book by stating, “That triumphant work, was much less a book than a state of vision” (McPherson 89). On the other hand, Southerners believed the book was one-sided in opinion, and aimed to have it permanently banned in the South. Also, some ferocious abolitionists believed that the book wasn’t strongly enough against slavery and that Tom was portrayed as too weak. But when President Lincoln read Stowe’s book, he totally disagreed. Later, in 1862, Lincoln met with Stowe and told her, “So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war" (McPherson 90). Whether or not Lincoln really meant this literally, it tremendously shows the connection between Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Civil War. Uncle Tom’s Cabin contributed to the Civil War’s outbreak because it individualized the political and jurisdictional arguments about slavery. The novel helped numerous Americans determine what kind of country they thought was worth fighting for, and it inspired many people to share their true feelings about slavery, which eventually led to the brutal four year Civil War (McPherson 89-90; Impact of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Slavery, and the Civil
When Harriet had moved to Brunswick Maine with her family, the United States Congress had just passed the Fugitive Slave Law. Shortly after, she had planned to write a protest of slavery since her experiences in Cincinnati. Stowe then began to work on Uncle Toms Cabin, which first appeared in serial form in a Washington, D.C. antislavery newspaper called the National Era. The book was first published March of 1852, in a two-volume set. It became an immediate success and sold 300,000 copies in its first year. Years later, Harriet began touring all over the world, and her novels Uncle Tom’s Cabin along with Dred: A Tale of Great Dismal Swamp were both very known in England. Another crucial experience was when she met Abraham Lincoln in 1862. He thought of Harriet’s controversial novel as a catalyst for the opposition of the Civil War. Lincoln had told her that she was “the little lady who started our big war” (Encyclopedia of World Biography 485).
When Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe after the beginning of the American Civil War, he supposedly said to her, "So you're the little woman that wrote the book that started this Great War" ("Harriet's Life"). Lincoln was referring to Harriett Beecher Stowe's book Uncle Tom's Cabin. The quote implies that even the president of America had recognized and emphasized the impact of the novel on American Society as being the key cause to something as important as the Civil War.
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.
In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published the startlingly truthful and heart-wrenching novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She was angered by the new and stricter Fugitive Slave Law and created this novel, emphasizing the cruel separation of families in order to inflame the North. She owed the creation of it to God and said “her anti-slavery sentiments lay in the evangelical religious crusades of the Second Great Awakening.” Stowe’s novel sold millions of copies, transformed into plays and opened the eyes of American people, to the injustice of slavery. Arguably, this novel even helped the North win the Civil War: It was read by a profuse amount of youth in the 1850’s who would inspired to fight because what Uncle Tom’s Cabin portrayed. Additionally, it was an impetus for people up North to not enforce the Fugitive Slave Law. Five years later to when this novel was published Hinton Helper’s novel, The Impending Crisis of the South made its debut. Helper was a non-aristocratic white in the South and his novel utilized statistics in order to help prove that the non-slaveholding whites were the real victims of the Peculiar Institution. This novel was banned from the South, however countless copies were sold in the North. This novel, as did its former, reduced the South’s ability to live under the same roof as their anti-slavery brothers up North.
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.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and was published on March 20th, 1852. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is an anti-slavery novel that talks about how slavery is harmful, traumatic, and it tears families apart and it should be abolished. This book protests the Fugitive Slave Act. Uncle Tom’s Cabin helped cause the Civil War because it was controversial. It wrote about the evils of slavery and put a face to slavery. People in the south believed that the whole story was a lie, and slavery was good. In the south, Harriet Beecher Stowe was portrayed as a villain. But, in the north people agreed with the book and the bad things that were talked about. That caused a huge debate about who was right which eventually led to the civil war. Document C says that Southern people think Harriet Beecher Stowe is a liar and people who believe her aren’t smart. A divide was
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
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was so popular that it was translated into more than 60 languages(Harriet Beecher Stowe). Because of the book, it caused Northerners to accuse the Southerners of treating slaves badly. In turn, the Southerners accused Stowe of exaggerating how they treated their slaves and said that Stowe didn’t know that much about slaves and just made up some of the things in the book. Stowe responded to this by writing a book called Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This book lists all resources she used to help write her book Uncle Tom’s Cabin(Randolph 67). However, the book caused the Northerners to not cooperate with the Fugitive Slave Act, therefore picking up an argument with the South. The argument caused the Civil War(Hillstrom 431).
Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe for the first time. The book that the former president is referring to is Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a 1850s book about the moral wrongs of slavery. It has been said to be the most influential anti-slavery book that has ever been written. Harriet Beecher Stowe is an effective author. She uses numerous literary devices such as facile characters, character foils, and symbolism to highlight her abolitionist views and constructs a persuasive argument against slavery.
Harriet Beecher Stowe of Connecticut was the American author who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852. This now famous novel was written about the humble life of a slave and the horrible acrostics committed against him. As shown in Document 4, this novel gave a new perspective to the Northerners. It gave the newly informed an understanding of what slavery actually was. The sympathy for the slaves soon turned to anger as a few select citizen lead by John Brown, took up arms to save the slaves.
Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe ten years after her book Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published. When he met her he told her that she was the little women “who wrote the book that made this great war.” Abraham Lincoln was not lying. Many few novels had grabbed the public spotlight and cause an uproar like the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In the north, people understood slavery in a more personal level. In the south, they were outraged about this book. Her story advanced the cause of Abolition north of the Mason- Dixon line and “promoted sheer indignation in plantation America. Her brother was Henry Ward Beecher. He was an outspoken Abolitionist. By the mid-1850, there “would become the driving force behind aiding the Free- Soil cause in Bleeding
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.
Harriet Beecher Stowe is a young girl who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852. She used her talent in literature to express her thoughts of slavery—Slaves should have the same rights as other Americans. Slavery should be prohibited because it is a great moral problem.
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.
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