Uncle Toms Cabin

Influence of Media

• Can you name a movie, show, or book that took the world by storm and went viral?

“Uncle’s Tom Cabin” 1852

• “Uncle’s Tom Cabin” 1852 – written by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Uncle Tom Was a slave who was whipped to death by his master
• Shows the evils of slavery and the injustice of the Fugitive Slave Act.
• Book becomes a best seller in the north: saw slavery as a moral issue

Harriet Beecher Stowe

• Harriet Beecher Stowe grew up in New England, slavery had seemed so far away.
• She would travel to Kentucky, a slave state watched boats filled with slaves in chains who were being shipped south to be sold at slave markets.
• One day she saw a baby pulled from its chained mother’s arms.
• She saw a look of pain on the mother’s face.

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Travels Down South

• Visited a friend in Kentucky who lived on a plantation and owned slaves.
• The friend and her family were kind people but slave owners
• She saw slavery at its best and its worst
• Saw a cruel abuse of slaves. Whipping, beating, long workdays

Uncle Toms Cabin – Main Characters

• Uncle Tom: A devout and kind-hearted slave who faces numerous trials and tribulations but remains steadfast in his faith and principles.
• Eliza Harris: A young slave woman who escapes with her son to evade being sold and separated from her family.
• Simon Legree: A cruel and sadistic plantation owner who embodies the worst aspects of slavery.
• Eva St. Clare: The angelic daughter of a kind slaveholder, whose compassion and innocence serve as a stark contrast to the brutality of slavery.

Fairness

• Harriet tried to be fair when she wrote the book.
• She made the horrible overseer, Simon Legree, a Northerner.
• Legree is the villain in the story.

Plot

• The novel begins with the Shelby family facing financial difficulties, leading them to sell their faithful slave, Uncle Tom, to settle their debts.
• Heartbroken but resigned, Uncle Tom is sold to the brutal Simon Legree, whose cruelty tests Uncle Tom's faith and resilience.

Plot

• Meanwhile, Eliza Harris escapes from the Shelby plantation with her son, Harry, fearing they will be sold and separated.
• Their journey to freedom is fraught with danger, including a dramatic escape across the frozen Ohio River.
• Eliza eventually finds refuge with a group of Quakers, who help her reunite with her husband, George Harris.

Reader Impact

• Uncle Tom's death serves as a powerful reminder of the human cost of slavery
• Brought attention to the profound injustice faced by millions of enslaved individuals.
• It prompts readers to reflect on their own values and actions, inspiring empathy and a commitment to social justice.
• "Uncle Tom's Cabin" leaves a lasting impact, challenging readers to confront the legacy of slavery and strive for a more equitable and compassionate society.

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What makes a good person?

• In the novel, the two black men who beat him are evil.
• Some white plantation owners are good people.
• Harriet was trying to show that color has nothing to do with whether a person is good or bad.

What she showed very well was that the system of slavery was evil and that even good people did evil things when they were part of the system.

Importance

• It was the most important American book written in the 19^th century.
• It may be the most influential book ever written in America.
• Northern News papers published chapters to being awareness to the horrors of slavery.

Popularity

• Within a week of its publication as a book (in 1852), 10,000 copies had been sold, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin was just getting started.
• Before the Civil War began, two million copies were bought in the U.S., and it was translated into many languages and sold around the world.

Question Morality

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin changed people’s ideas about slavery.
• It made people in the North angry.
• It made them willing to fight a war to end slavery.

Southern Views

• In the South it was against the law to buy or sell this book.
• Why do you think that is?