Racial Tensions In Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is one of many literary works that expresses the racial tensions that took place in the early years of the United States. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was highly popular during the nineteenth century, bringing national attention to the injustices happening throughout the country. By developing characters and events that were common within society, Stowe was able to attract an audience of all backgrounds and encourage others to take a stance. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was one of the first novels written by a women to voice their opinions and would later lead to an outburst of action by American citizens. Throughout Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the views of American culture are altered by the …show more content…
To alleviate the idea of plummeting further into debt, Mr. Shelby sells two of his slaves, Uncle Tom, a middle aged man who has shown impeccable loyalty, and Henry, a young boy who is about to be separated from his mother, against his wife’s opinion in order to gain more stability. Due to the sympathetic relationship that Arthur and Emily have with each of their slaves, Emily forewarns Uncle Tom and Eliza, Henry’s mother. When Eliza first hears of the news, she plans her escape to northward with Henry, while Uncle Tom accepts his fate faithfully. Eliza and Henry’s journey is successful with the help of a Quaker community in her escape efforts and lives a happy and free life once her family gets settled in Canada. Meanwhile, Uncle Tom is sold twice throughout his journey, eventually to a man who beats him mercilessly and contributes to Tom’s early death. After the Shelby’s hear of the awful accounts of Uncle Tom and realize the influence that he had had on them, they free their slaves in his honor and begin to fight for the liberation of African Americans throughout the