The Horrors of Slavery in Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Introduction:

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an amazing read that was truly inspiring. It was evident to me and clearly evident to others as well, that the book was written for a specific purpose. This purpose was to inform the American public of the horrors of slavery. The novel was set in the early 19th century. During this time period, slaves took up approximately 13% of the American population and for the most part worked on large plantations. Since very few people were plantation owners, or owned slaves for personal use, most of the American public did not have a great understanding of the hardships that an average slave had to go through. Through her writing, Harriet Stowe managed to illustrate perfectly what the American people had been unable to see. Stowe’s novel inspired people to push for the end of slavery in a way that debates and speeches could not have. The response from the novel was so incredible that it has been considered by many to have caused or at least influenced the American Civil War. This novel shows that the power of literature can be used as a weapon. It’s up to the author to decide if they want to use this power for good or for bad. Harriet Stowe decided to use her power for good by attempting to convince people to join the abolitionist movement. This can be shown through Tom’s characteristics, religion, the response the novel received from the north and south and through the historical facts(generally one sided) shown through Stowes writing.

First Body Paragraph:

Harriet Stowe managed to inspire people to make a change through the characteristics she gave Tom. These characteristics helped the general public feel more empathy for the characters, which in turn gave them a grea...

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...l war, it’s circulation declined tremendously. It wasn’t until the human rights movement in the late 1960’s that the book became widely read again. The impact of the novel was so large on Americans in both the North and South that it is firmly believed that Harriet Stowe managed to influence the start of the American Civil War through her writing. The power of literature can be so strong, that it can be used as weapon. By portraying slaves as people that the reader (the general public) could both relate and sympathize with had a greater effect than even Stowe could have imagined. Basically she educated the public who previously only had a very limited and narrow view of who a slave really was. In conclusion it is evident that Harriet Stowe managed to successfully convince the American public to push for change and to come together to end slavery once and for all.