When “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was published in 1851, its shocking depiction of slavery appalled the people of the United States (and Great Britain) for different reasons in the North and South. At a time when the institution of slavery was slowly falling apart, the publication of this novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe outraged the people of the South. They believed that slavery was shown in an unfair and extreme light. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” only fueled the rage in the North, igniting the anti-slavery movement.
Stowe’s novel was published about ten years before the Civil War, and is often said to be one of the main causes. Abraham Lincoln was believed to have greeted Stowe during the war by saying, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” Whether or not this story is true, it is indisputable that Stowe’s novel added tensions to society that sped the impending war along. Though the war’s main cause was states’ rights and the power struggle between national and state government, slavery was the greatest issue of this argument.The majority of people in the North had never encountered slavery themselves. They had only heard about it through political speeches and newspaper accounts. (http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/utc/impact.shtml) This book gave them emotional details of what the life of a slave was like, and made them more eager to end slavery. All the while, this reaction made the South hold on tighter to this institution that was so dominant in Southern culture.
One main argument stemmed from whether or not Stowe’s depiction of slavery was accurate. People in the South claimed that Stowe’s work was exaggerated and that it only served to make them look bad. Contrasting this is the argument that Tom’s first two owners were kind Southerners while only his third owner was cruel (and he was originally from New England). (http://www.inklingbooks.com/blackhistory/blackhistory.html)
On the other side of the argument, pro-slavery groups were publishing literature depicting slaves in a different way: as happy workers, merrily singing songs while doing what their masters wanted of them [though these “happy songs” were actually a way of expressing sadness. (http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/interpret/intslav.html)]
Frederick Olmsted, writing for the New York Daily Times wrote detailed observations about life on a Southern plantation in the 1850s. He describes watching the slaves work as “painful” because of the lifelessness in their eyes and defeated looks. He also gives a vivid account of seeing a girl brutally whipped after supposedly lying to her overseer. These types of accounts strengthened Stowe’s argument and make it more likely that she gave an accurate depiction. (http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plantation.htm)
The effects that Uncle Tom’s cabin had on the world today are quite obvious. Slavery is no longer legal, and now all citizens of the United States, regardless of color or gender, have legal equal rights. If Harriet Beecher Stowe could see the country today, she would likely be proud of the response to her writing. Even though a war that resulted in the loss of many American lives was an immediate effect, the end justified the means in the longterm.
About 2 minutes in, this video gives a little more information about slavery and the Civil War.
