1 Abraham Lincoln
He saved the Union, freed the slaves, and presided over America’s second founding.
2 George Washington
He made the United States possible—not only by defeating a king, but by declining to become one himself.
3 Thomas Jefferson
The author of the five most important words in American history: “All men are created equal.”
4 Franklin Delano Roosevelt
He said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” and then he proved it.
5 Alexander Hamilton
Soldier, banker, and political scientist, he set in motion an agrarian nation’s transformation into an industrial power.
6 Benjamin Franklin
The Founder-of-all-trades— scientist, printer, writer, diplomat, inventor, and more; like his country, he
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37 J. P. Morgan
The great financier and banker was the prototype for all the Wall Street barons who followed.
38 Susan B. Anthony
She was the country’s most eloquent voice for women’s equality under the law.
39 Rachel Carson
The author of Silent Spring was godmother to the environmental movement.
40 John Dewey
He sought to make the public school a training ground for democratic life.
41 Harriet Beecher Stowe
Her Uncle Tom’s Cabin inspired a generation of abolitionists and set the stage for civil war.
42 Eleanor Roosevelt
She used the first lady’s office and the mass media to become “first lady of the world.”
43 W. E. B. DuBois
One of America’s great intellectuals, he made the “problem of the color line” his life’s work.
44 Lyndon Baines Johnson
His brilliance gave us civil-rights laws; his stubbornness gave us Vietnam.
45 Samuel F. B. Morse
Before the Internet, there was Morse code.
46 William Lloyd Garrison
Through his newspaper, The Liberator, he became the voice of abolition.
47 Frederick Douglass
After escaping from slavery, he pricked the nation’s conscience with an eloquent accounting of its crimes.
48 Robert Oppenheimer
The father of the atomic bomb and the regretful midwife of the nuclear era.
49 Frederick Law Olmsted
The genius behind New York’s Central Park, he inspired the greening of America’s cities.
50
“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.”
This issue allowed women to get out of their domestic rut, and make a difference in the world. They appealed to the public’s empathy, their sense of family and compassion. Angelina Grimké, the daughter of a Southern slaveholder, asked her fellow Christian women to “embody themselves in societies, and send petitions up to their different legislatures, entreating their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons, to abolish the institution of slavery” (Doc F). She claimed that slavery was a women’s issue as it was degrading and gruesome for female workers, and split families apart, wives from husbands, and mothers from children. Another important female abolitionist was Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a best selling novel providing a sympathetic, Christian slave character for whites to relate to (Doc
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.
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.
Women in the civil war era. What image comes into your mind? A nurse? What about a nobel spy, or a leader to many? Even an abolitionist, a soldier, or maybe even a civil rights activist. Many women wanted to speak out for their beliefs, but remained quiet, for they feared it would not have a good outcome. But, some didn’t stay quiet. Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of those women who was not scared to speak for her, and many others, beliefs. Harriet was a passionate abolitionist, and her book ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ made her an international celebrity. She is even considered one of the causes of the Civil War. Her book personalizes the political and economic arguments about slavery. President Abraham Lincoln greeted her in 1812 and proclaimed, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started the great war.” Harriet Tubman was a hero. She was a runaway slave who became a conductor in the
put down, inspired a generation of African Americans to begin to analyze the doctrine of “separate but equal” and began to start
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.
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).
Later in life she was bound by the stern discipline of an older sister, and upon her marriage to Calvin Stowe was overcome with poverty, poor health, and the demands of motherhood with a rapidly increasing family. She knew from personal experience what it was like to be oppressed. It was during these years of her life she would learn, and relate to, the sufferings of others. These years of her life may have seemed unbearable at times, but without them she may never have had the courage to speak out for others. All of these emotions were poured out onto the pages of Uncle Tomâs Cabin. It is possible that she could see similarities between the circumstances of her life and that of a slave: neither she nor the slaves were viewed as individuals with rights of their own. Uncle Tomâs Cabin was an assertion for individual rights for slaves and was quite possibly her own declaration of independence. It was in this writing that "her resentment toward the repressive influences in her own life ... attached itself to the symbol of the black race" (Adams 45).
presenting himself in front of America with a stand for black equality he showed the courage
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
Banks are used to hold your money for you and it helps you know that your money is safe. Alexander hamilton has done many other things that have made a huge impact on our
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
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.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, is arguably the most influential novel in American History. Stowe’s sentimental writing style seized the imagination of her readers and Uncle Tom’s Cabin became the standard of the abolition movement. Uncle Tom, one of the protagonists, spreads Christianity and dies for his faith, like Christ. By equating Uncle Tom with Jesus Christ, Harriet Beecher Stowe deliberately provokes her audience to social change and abolition.