Uncle Tom's Cabin

It is in opinions and historical movements that the impact of this novel can be justified and shows how its publication was a turning point which helped bring about the Civil War. When Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 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.” Lincoln was referring to Stowe's novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It recounts the struggles of several African American slaves to preserve their families and survive the experience for slavery. This quote immediately implies that even the President of America had recognised and emphasised the impact of the novel on American Society as being the key cause to something as important as the Civil War. When Stowe began working on her fictional account of slavery, it was published in 1851 in weekly instalments in an anti-slavery newspaper.

The publishing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin stirred the emotions of the country over whether or not African Americans are equal, if they should be free, and what should be done about slavery. At the one of the earliest points in American history, the roots of slavery began to take hold in Jamestown, Virginia in the year 1619 (“Slavery in America”). The reasoning behind owning slaves was selfish, and simple; slavery provided cheap, dispensable laborers that could survive tremendous amounts of abuse, and needed very little to survive. Before the use of slaves, Europeans relied heavily on indentured servants, individuals who owed a debt and thus traveled to the new world to work off the debt for a certain number of years until they would be freed. This left wealthy individuals who held the servants in a constant struggle of bringing in more workers, but slavery provided a remedy for this issue.

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. Uncle Tom's Cabin is said to have contributed to the Civil War because it brought the evils of slavery to the attention of Americans more vividly than any other book had done before ("Harriett's Life").

Published by the Anti Slavery Committee, it was definitely biased against the slave holder but Douglass seemed to write fairly of his experiences especially since he was able to relate both good and bad experiences with his slave owners. Douglass’ words sum it up the best, "You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man." (107) Work Cited Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003.

Harriet being a sworn abolitionist, her views and comments written in the book helped start the Abolitionist Cause in the 1850’s. The book also spread many stereotypes about African-Americans, such as Mammy (slang for mother), Pickaninny (slang for a black child), and Uncle Tom (slang for a black servant faithful to his white master or mistress). The impact of the book was so great, that before the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln wanted to meet Harriet. When he finally met her in 1862, he said, “So you’re the little woman that wrote the book that made this big war!”. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, however, had a greater impact in England than it did in America.

When Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe, he said, “So, this is the little lady who made this big war”(“History.com Staff”2). After Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin, there was a rumor that this book led to the Civil War. Uncle Tom’s Cabin turned a lot of people in the North against slavery. The people in the North wanted slavery to end which caused them to fight the South. The most important topic of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is that slavery was worse in the South than in the North.

Abraham Lincoln once told Harriet Beecher Stowe,”So you’re the little lady who wrote the book that made this great war”(Hillstrom and Baker 431). Harriet Beecher Stowe, in a way, did start the Civil War, one of the bloodiest battles in American history. She tried her hardest to abolish slavery and never gave up on the slaves no matter what obstacles there were along the road. Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, helped release slaves during the Civil War, and also worked to abolish slavery in her life. Harriet Beecher was always a good writer, even when she was young.

Frederick Douglass did a great job explaining the harsh conditions of being a slave. In his narrative he spoke of the cruel things he saw and underwent while being a slave. Also, in doing this he shows the readers how his location(south) and dismemberment was a big deal growing up as a slave. He starts us off with a little background knowledge about himself .From the very beginning of his novel he made it clear that he didn't know his age, and that he was separated from his mother.1 This was something slaveholders did you separate families, regardless of their social status. He then goes on to say that the only time he saw his mother was at night, after she walked miles to get to him.2 To brake the bond between them two, the separation was necessary between slaves.

616) It is had been commented that this book had helped “lay the groundwork for the Civil War”, according to Will Kaufman, and is widely regarded to one of the reasons of the Civil War. Langston Hughes refers to this book as a "moral battle cry for freedom." The characters in her book debated the causes of slavery, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, the future of freed persons, individualism and racism. The Civil War arose from a combination of causes counting regional conflicts between the Southern and Northern states, economic forces, and humanitarian concerns for the welfare of enslaved people. The four year war opposed one section of the country against each other and nearly rescinded the United States of America.

This novel changed the public opinion of forced servitude which ultimately had a significant effect on the already sectionalist nation. Although most southern slave owners disagreed with her opinion, Harriet Beecher Stowe accurately represented the practice of slavery in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Known by Abraham Lincoln as “the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war”, Harriet Elizabeth Beecher was born on June 14, 1811 in Litchfield, Connecticut. She was the sixth of eleven children whom all grew to become important public figures. All seven sons became minister, the oldest daughter pioneered women’s education, and the youngest daughter founded the National Women’s Suffrage Association.