Uncle Tom’s Cabin

A Historical Piece of Literature

Introduction and Thesis

This novel was extremely influential in fueling antislavery sentiment during the decade preceding the Civil War. It stands as one of the most influential novels to ever stand out amongst all books to this day. The book even earned its’ way onto the banned list in schools predominantly in the South, also known as abolitionist propaganda in the South. Mainly because of slavery taking place throughout the South more than the North of the United States. The antislavery novel was also viewed as a significant controversy once it was written. This was because of Stowe’s brilliant decision to use Uncle Tom’s Cabin to express and bring attention to slavery. She successfully disclosed the horrific attachments slavery brought, thus shining light upon the thousands who turned a blind eye to slavery and its devastating outcomes. The novel was a success at not only bringing attention to one of our country’s most significant flaws through a common theme of evil and immorality of slavery while sticking to a familiar tone of stolidness and serious. Stowe’s writing helped pave a roadway for the start of the Civil War to surface.

About the Author

Harriet Beecher Stowe was born on July 14th, 1811, in Litchfield, Connecticut. Her father was a pastor for the local church her family worshiped at often. Unfortunately, her mother had passed away when Stowe was only five years old. This made her older sister, Catherine, step up and take over the younger Beecher children’s responsibility. Stowe was born into a family of 12 children, her being the 6th to been born. Her parents set the expectation of shaping the world around them from a very young age.

From a young age, Stowe showed promise for early literature. She was active at the dinner table, actively participating in debated and heated discussions surrounding their outside world. She earned herself the skill of knowing how to argue persuasively. Her education was already at a headstart than most due to her going to Sarah Pierce’s Academy, one of the earliest institutions to encourage girls to study academic subjects in addition to the traditional ornamental arts.

In 1832, Stowe moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where she met her husband, Calvin Stowe. Later on, “in the summer of 1849, Stowe experienced for the first time the sorrow of many 19th century parents when her 18-month-old son, Samuel Charles Stowe, died of cholera. Stowe later credited that crushing pain as one of the inspirations for Uncle Tom’s Cabin because it helped her understand the pain enslaved mothers felt when their children were sold away from them.” Stowe wrote more than 40 stories, consisting of poems, short stories, novels, and hymns. She passed away on July 1st, 1896, in Hartford, Connecticut.

About the book

Published on March 20th, 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is one of Stowe’s best literature pieces she ever wrote. The book is about the harshness of slavery and the impact it left on society today. The book tells the story of a family of slaves trying to escape their masters and live a life of freedom and the life of shackles physically and mentally. The book goes down the path of a slave-owning family known as the Shelby family. They were forced to sell two of their slaves for the needs of income. Unlike most slave owners, Arthur Shelby and his wife have a kind relationship with their slaves. However, after one slave overhears the plan, the primary slave character, Tom, plans his escape. After a somewhat successful attempt, Uncle Tom remains strong within himself and remaining faithful to God. Ultimately, after demonstrating this strong faith and determination through various acts and circumstances in the novel. Uncle Tom is later met by evil forces and his death from the slave owner, Simon Legree.

Without actually mentioning it, Stowe talks about the evil of slavery that surrounded all slaves through Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Her tone and diction bring the audience to realization and sympathy for the characters as these types of situations happened every day. Stowe’s mentioning of the evils of slavery and restoration of faith also brought her story and characters to life. Many people did not believe slaves could or would understand Christianity, for Stowe to put in her story about a slave who understands it and has such a strong moral. It also serves as an eye-catcher to her peers’ audience to quickly catch on and put themselves in the shoes of Tom and his hardships.

Stowe’s story is an unusual way of storytelling that compels the reader to have changing views and empathy. Uncle Tom, a very dignified and highly religious saint, goes through the hardships of life as a slave in hopes of being free. His faith carries Uncle Tom’s determination and high spirits above the clouds and allows him to combat the dangers and evil of slavery. The dangers and evil of slavery were presented through the character of Simon Legree for his cruelness and harsh treatment of slaves. These are two opposites Stowe writes about in her novel as Uncle Tom remained a man of faith and belief. This also shaped her novel and illustrated the constraints of a society placed upon slaves as Legree attempts to cripple Uncle Tom’s faith and strength were actual depictions of how slaves were treated in society. Stowe did not feel that slaves should have been property or treated harshly.

The Legacy

As Harriet Beecher Stowe once said, “It’s a matter of taking the side of the weak against the strong, something the best people have always done.” This goes alongside the legacy this book left behind for the world to embark on. Even if the book a fictional story, it still revolves around the effects of events that could have happened the same way. The harsh treatment of slaves throughout the story was also a real thing that happened to slaves. The news brought light to these issues very suddenly, and Stowe’s main goal was to finally make the people that were against slavery to see the damage that was being done. To come to a sense of realization that these circumstances and treatments came with a price, innocent people’s lives. Many people that were for slavery took a blind eye to this novel, though. When it was published, many believed that Stowe was over exaggerating the details of what happens to slaves.

Although this book was deemed a controversial book due to many people not taking a stand or care for race or slaves. “In March 1852, a Boston publisher decided to issue Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a book, and it became an instant bestseller. Three hundred thousand copies were sold the first year, and about two million copies were sold worldwide by 1857.” This also serves to show Uncle Tom’s Cabin legacy left upon the world as well.

For the people of the United States to come back to a history lesson when reading this book. It puts things into perspective for how slavery was in the country. It also allows the readers to embark on a journey through Uncle Tom’s eyes and faith. So it gives them insight into what it would be like for them as well. The hardships, the breakdown of their bodies physically and mentally, the constraints of life-bearing down upon them. Uncle Tom’s Cabin will always serve as an influential and essential book of society to look back on and reflect upon.

Works Cited

Bain, Jackson. “Life.” Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 2008, www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/harriet-beecher-stowe/harriet-beecher-stowe-life/.

“Today in History — June 5.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/june-05/.

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Chapter Summary & Analysis.” LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/lit/uncle-tom-s-cabin/chapter-45-concluding-remarks.