Words have incredible power. Harriet Beecher Stowe strung together thousands of words to create a piece of literature that would rock the nation. In the 1800s, slavery was expanding all over the nation, primarily in the South. Although there were several statutes and laws to regulate the activity of slavery, it was still trapping thousands of people in inhumane circumstances. Needless to say, Harriet Beecher Stowe would soon shed some light on the topic and reveal the human costs of slavery. Uncle Tom’s Cabin may not have started the Civil War, but had a major impact on the opinions of Americans which helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War.
Americans had a very different view about slavery up until they purchased and read Stowe’s novel. …show more content…
Although a majority of the nation were not abolitionists, this novel allowed the American people to discover and form their own opinions about slavery without the government’s help or interference (PRIMARY SOURCE YOUR BOOK, 195). The popularity of the book grew mainly in the North of the nation, but was viciously attacked in the South. The South believed that Stowe did not have any personal experience on a plantation and could not be the judge, let alone, write a book about situations and events she had never seen. Hagood illuminates the opinion in his journal of Susan Bradford, the daughter of Dr. Edward Bradford, who owned over 300 slaves by the outbreak of the Civil War. With absolute certainty, Bradford believed that Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel was engulfed with lies. Hagood quotes her claiming, “Isn’t it strange how much harm a pack of lies can do?” (Hagood 2012). Clearly, the people of the South were not fans of Stowe’s work. They argued that Stowe opened the floodgates for open conversations about the pros and cons of slavery—floodgates that decades of American male politicians had struggled to keep shut (Hagood, 2012). Harriet Beecher Stowe did exactly that. With the help of her novel, the horrors of slavery were portrayed and more abolitionists grew in a nation that once lacked an opinion on a pressing issue that remained hidden because of …show more content…
With the South’s blatant criticism of the novel, the American Civil War was essentially inevitable after the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Stowe’s anti-slavery novel was published at the best timing. The nation needed a piece of literature that argued against slavery when it was becoming so dominant. The Americans who cringed at the novel and realized there were thousands of others who knew slavery was immoral, were igniting the fire beneath the anti-slavery movement. Although Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel made history and changed the social view on slavery, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is still a novel that matters today and used constantly in
Americans had a very different view about slavery up until they purchased and read Stowe’s novel. …show more content…
Although a majority of the nation were not abolitionists, this novel allowed the American people to discover and form their own opinions about slavery without the government’s help or interference (PRIMARY SOURCE YOUR BOOK, 195). The popularity of the book grew mainly in the North of the nation, but was viciously attacked in the South. The South believed that Stowe did not have any personal experience on a plantation and could not be the judge, let alone, write a book about situations and events she had never seen. Hagood illuminates the opinion in his journal of Susan Bradford, the daughter of Dr. Edward Bradford, who owned over 300 slaves by the outbreak of the Civil War. With absolute certainty, Bradford believed that Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel was engulfed with lies. Hagood quotes her claiming, “Isn’t it strange how much harm a pack of lies can do?” (Hagood 2012). Clearly, the people of the South were not fans of Stowe’s work. They argued that Stowe opened the floodgates for open conversations about the pros and cons of slavery—floodgates that decades of American male politicians had struggled to keep shut (Hagood, 2012). Harriet Beecher Stowe did exactly that. With the help of her novel, the horrors of slavery were portrayed and more abolitionists grew in a nation that once lacked an opinion on a pressing issue that remained hidden because of …show more content…
With the South’s blatant criticism of the novel, the American Civil War was essentially inevitable after the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Stowe’s anti-slavery novel was published at the best timing. The nation needed a piece of literature that argued against slavery when it was becoming so dominant. The Americans who cringed at the novel and realized there were thousands of others who knew slavery was immoral, were igniting the fire beneath the anti-slavery movement. Although Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel made history and changed the social view on slavery, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is still a novel that matters today and used constantly in