slaves

603 Words2 Pages

The period from 1840-1860 saw an extreme rise in sectional tension between the Northern free states and the Southern Slave states. As the desire to fulfill America’s Manifest Destiny increased the issue of slavery could no longer be solved by compromises. The Civil War was not caused by a single event, but rather many events that highlighted the differences between the north and the south. Among these events were the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, opened the eyes of many Americans to actual treatment of slaves in the southern United Stares. The book was not intended for entertainment, but rather to teach and transform society. Although Stowe’s novel was a fictional, the experiences her characters went through were typical occurrences in the lives of slaves. Uncle Tom’s Cabin humanized slaves; before the novel slaves where though of as property, and this was the excuse for slave owner’s poor treatment of their slaves. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel led to an i...

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