Uncle Tom's Cabin By:David T DodgeUncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Many people believe that a novel has a direct and powerful influence on American history. One such novel was written by a woman by the name of Harriet Beecher Stowe. The name of this novel is Uncle Tom's Cabin. Harriet Beecher was born on June 14, 181l, in Litchfield, Connecticut. Her father Lyman Beecher, was a renowned preacher. Harriet was a student and later a teacher, at Hartford Female Seminary. In 1832, the Beecher's moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Just across the Ohio River lay slave territory. Beecher's visits to plantations confirmed her disdain for slavery. In 1836, Beecher married Calvin Ellis Stowe, a seminary professor (Compton's). Upon moving to Brunswick, Me. , in 1850, Stowe was challenged by her sister-in-law to "write something that would make this whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is!" The answer to the challenge was Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly', which appeared in 1851 to 1852, in an anti-slavery paper called "National Era." Though the story depicts some of the kind and patriarchal aspects of slavery, it emphasizes the dark and cruel side. Published in book form in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin was an unprecedented success in American publishing, selling two million copies before the start of the American Civil War. It has translated into more than 20 languages and presented countless times on the stage and in motion pictures (Grolier). Stowe died on July 1, 1896, in Hartford Connecticut. Among her other works are "The Mayflower" (1843, a collection of tales and sketches; "Dred: a Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp" (1856); "The Minister's Wooing" (1859); and "Lady Bryon Vindicated" (1870) (Compton's). Harriet Beecher Stowe was in challenge by her sister and when she had to pick something to write about. Stowe decided to write a fictional story about Slavery. That is the main historical basis for this book. During the time ...
