Uncle Tom’s Cabin
(Harriet Beecher Stowe)

Uncle Tom's Cabin was first serialized in June of 1851 and published in book form in 1852. Because of its extreme controversy, it quickly became a best-seller, eventually overtaking every other book (except the bible) in terms of book sales. Many literary critics today argue that Uncle Tom's Cabin is not literature because of its simplistic, stereotypical characters, predictable plot and sermon-like tone. These are all valid criticisms of the novel; however, to understand why Uncle Tom's Cabin is so momentous, one has to have a sense of its historical significance.

The novel was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a feminist, abolitionist, and devout Christian. Harriet grew up in an intellectual family, and lived in Connecticut where she saw both sides of the slavery issue. It was this exposure that allowed her to address common questions and concerns with regard to slavery and morals in the form of discussions in Uncle Tom's Cabin. She also visited a plantation for a short period of time and heard stories of cruel slavery practice from friends. The issue affected her tremendously, and her emotional turmoil is what began Uncle Tom's Cabin.

After the passing of the second Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, an act that forbid northerners to aid runaway slaves, Harriet began writing serials in National Era, an abolitionist magazine. It was originally intended to be shorter, but because of its popular reception the editor requested that Harriet make it a full novel. She based it on the life of slave and martyr Josiah Herson, only later naming the book Uncle Tom's Cabin. Many of the other incidents in the novel were things she saw first-hand, such as families being separated; she also use material she'd heard from close friends, or that were well-known stories in towns and communities.

The goal of the novel was to inspire Americans, specifically Northerners, to realize the horrors of slavery and act against it. In the novel, Harriet exposed those who had hidden prejudices against blacks, those who believed slaves were better off under a master, and those who, although they believed in the cause, did not act. All of these things, Harriet argued, were only helping keep the system that allowed for cruelty against an entire race of human beings. Even though northerners who believed these things weren't physically whipping slaves or separating families, by their action (or inaction) those cruelties were able to occur making them responsible.

The release of Uncle Tom's Cabin sparked strong feelings from both abolitionists and those who were pro-slavery. It sped up the process leading up to the civil war, and some claim the book itself as sparking it. So while it may rely on stereotypical images and sentimental writing, Uncle Tom's Cabin remains an indispensable historical dialogue that is still influential today.