Throughout the earth, there are innumerable cultures with characteristics and nuances so distinctive that they are somewhat like snowflakes, each different in its own ways. One widespread constant among cultures, however, is the innate inferiority of women in various societies. While the United States’ egalitarian principles have by the 21st century bucked that trend in its most egregious forms, the remarkable achievements of women of past generations have in no way diminished. Women of the 1800s were expected to adhere to the behaviors of the traditional “Republican mother”, in keeping with the established tasks of sewing, teaching, and child rearing. Of the small amount of exceptional women who defied this movement and used their natural abilities to make an impact on the world around them, few had an impact as momentous as that of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Through her most famous novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Stowe affected the hearts of thousands of Americans in the nineteenth century and beyond, and raised support for the anti-slavery movement in a powerful and meaningful way.
During her illustrious writing career, Stowe wrote over twenty books, all still cherished by many readers over a century after their publications. Although each of them represents Stowe’s sentimental writing style, none caused the momentous repercussions that Uncle Tom’s Cabin did after its publication in 1852. Initially found only in an anti-slavery newspaper, Uncle Tom’s Cabin very quickly became a national and international sensation. It delineated a heartfelt, albeit fictional, tale that exposed the cruelest injustices of slavery and forced the reader to sympathize with the slaves’ viewpoint virtually by default. Within a year of publication, nearly 300,000 copies of the novel were sold not only across the country but across the entire world. Before long, the story had reached the Queen of England, who was said to have wept after reading the heartrending tale. Through the compact message of a printed and mass-produced story, Stowe was able to bring her antislavery message to audiences far and wide, something that the orators and politicians of her time could not easily do. Also, by presenting her point in the form of a book, Stowe was able to bring the reality of slavery to people in faraway areas who would otherwise be unable to witness it firsthand. Although the readers of Uncle Tom’s Cabin were often hundreds of miles away from the plantations of the South, the emotionally moving scenes that were so vividly described by Stowe affected the hearts and souls of her audiences. Through the uniqueness of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Stowe achieved more than any other abolitionist or woman of her time could hope to accomplish.
While many 19th century female writing careers were restricted to romantic poetry or trivial works of fiction, Stowe used her fictional story to cause a significant change in the mindset of her readers toward the “peculiar institution” of slavery in the antebellum South. An apocryphal legend recounts Abraham Lincoln meeting Stowe and remarking, “So this is the little lady who started this big war.” While Lincoln likely never lavished such praise upon Stowe, his spurious comment possessed more than a little of the truth. What history reveals is that hundreds of thousands of people purchased Uncle Tom’s Cabin; however, the amount of people whose hearts and minds were changed due to reading the novel is left unquantifiable. The message sent by Uncle Tom’s Cabin was spread by both hard copies and word of mouth, meaning that by the mid-1850s, its anti-slavery sentiment had been spread to the far corners of the United States. The widespread abolitionist notion that resulted from the book’s release played right into the hands of the Union army. Its vast advantage over the Confederacy came in numbers – of the United States’ population of over 30 million people, 61% resided in Union land. Uncle Tom’s Cabin mobilized many of these people, inciting them to act upon a cause that offered more benefit for the enslaved people of the South than anyone else. Few Americans of the time possessed the power or influence to make such an impact on the war effort, but through the importance of her world-renowned novel, Stowe cemented her place in American history.
Although she was only a woman, Stowe was clearly unafraid to stir up controversy. One year after the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, she issued A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin in order to further clarify her point. Stowe had originally written Uncle Tom’s Cabin in reaction to the newly enacted Fugitive Slave Act, which forbade assistance of runaway slaves, even in non-slave states. Following its publication, Stowe embarked on several journeys to cities in both North America and Europe, enlightening audiences about the baneful effects of slavery and the prospects of emancipation. The powerful message sent by Uncle Tom’s Cabin had transformed Stowe, an unassuming woman from the north, into an international celebrity. Her newly acquired renown was significant not only because it raised awareness about the abolitionist movement and the seriousness of slavery, but also because she was breaking the traditional gender roles. Stowe was undaunted by expectations, however, freeing her to achieve heights previously not realized by her female predecessors.
A faithful wife and mother of seven, Harriet Beecher Stowe fulfilled far more than the standards set for her by society. By authoring Uncle Tom’s Cabin in protest to the “peculiar institution” of slavery, she utilized her captivating writing abilities to impact people’s hearts and minds on a subject that truly concerned her. The subject was not just important to Stowe; it was important to thousands, possibly millions of people of people of her time. A stand against slavery seemed unthinkable for a woman of the mid-1800s, yet Stowe accomplished that and more in her lifetime. By the conclusion of her life in 1896, Harriet Beecher Stowe transformed countless people and set an exemplary precedent for millions more to come.
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