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UNCLE TOM'S CABIN MOVES
AMERICA TOWARD ABOLITION
AMERICA TOWARD ABOLITION
So you're the little woman that wrote the book that made this great war.
— Abraham Lincoln to Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1862
In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed and both Northerners and Southerners were now
legally required to turn in runaway slaves. One year later, Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)
legally required to turn in runaway slaves. One year later, Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)
wrote Uncle Tom 's Cabin (or Life Among the Lowly) as a serial
in an antislavery paper, The National Era. In 1852, the Boston
publishing company Jewett published it as a book and, as
in an antislavery paper, The National Era. In 1852, the Boston
publishing company Jewett published it as a book and, as
they are wont to say, the rest is history.
Widely considered to be the first social protest novel
published in the United States (and the first major novel to
have a black hero), Uncle Tom's Cabin sold more copies
— with the exception of The Bible — than any book had
ever sold in America until that point with sales reaching
300,000 copies in the first year. As Kenneth C. Davis
explains, Uncle Tom's Cabin may not be the great
American novel, but “for a long time it was surely the
have a black hero), Uncle Tom's Cabin sold more copies
— with the exception of The Bible — than any book had
ever sold in America until that point with sales reaching
300,000 copies in the first year. As Kenneth C. Davis
explains, Uncle Tom's Cabin may not be the great
American novel, but “for a long time it was surely the
most significant American novel.”
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… YOU'RE NOT
SUPPOSED TO KNOW
SUPPOSED TO KNOW