Uncle Tom’s Cabin
By Harriet Beecher Stowe
1852
video clip
The Author
►
Harriet Beecher Stowe
 Daughter of an eminent New
England preacher
 Involved in religious
movements, feminist causes,
and abolition throughout her
life
 Grew up in the Northeast but
lived in Cincinnati, Ohio for a
short time
 Book based on her
experiences and also her
research conducted from
Frederick Douglass and the
servants who were former
slaves
Why was it written?
► Written
in response to the Fugitive Slave Act
of 1850
► Main goal of Uncle Tom’s Cabin: to convince
Northerners of the necessity of ending
slavery.
 Stowe had a large following; book was aimed at
those Northerners
 First published in episodes in the National Era in
1851 and 1852 (put in novel form in 1852)
The Book’s Success
►
►
►
►
►
UTC sold 10,000 copies in the
first week
It sold 300,000 copies by the
end of the year
Printed in various languages
Written and performed as a
play – spread throughout the
entire North
Publication/Sale banned in
many Southern states
 Southern reaction!?!
 Said book was a false
portrayal of slavery
Characters
► Uncle
Tom – main character, good and pious
man
► Mr. Shelby – Tom’s first master, sells Tom and
Harry to pay off his debts
► Simon Legree- Tom’s 3rd master, cruel
► Eliza Harris – Mrs. Shelby’s maid; escaped when
Mr. Shelby said he was going to sell Harry (crosses
Ohio river to freedom)
► Harry - George and Eliza’s son; sold by Mr. Shelby
The Plot
► The
book explores the different aspects of
slavery exposing the evils of even the “kind”
masters
► Uncle Tom is a slave who starts out on Mr.
Shelby’s plantation
 He is sold twice
 Follows his experiences with 3 masters
The Plot – Eliza’s Escape
►
Mr. Shelby
 Forced to sell Eliza’s son
Harry even though Mrs.
Shelby promised never to
separate them
 Eliza overhears this and runs
away with Harry
 Eliza and Harry escape and
make it across the Ohio
River (on ice chunks)
► They
are helped by Quaker
abolitionists and reunite with
George (Eliza’s husband)
► They all make it to Canada!
The Plot – Tom’s 1st Master
►
Mr. Shelby
 Treated Tom well; Tom lives with his wife and children
 Mr. Shelby sees the evil of slavery but condones it and
practices it
 Sold Tom to pay off his debts
► Eliza
warns Tom that he is to be sold but he refuses to escape
 His son vows to free Tom
The Plot – Tom’s
► Augustine
nd
2
Master
St. Clare
 Tom’s second master in New Orleans
►Purchased
Tom because he saved his daughter from
drowning in the Mississippi River
 Also sees the evil of slavery but tolerates and
practices it
The Plot – Tom’s
► Simon
rd
3
Legree
 Ruthlessly evil
 Louisiana Plantation
 Fosters violence and hatred
among his slaves
 Abuses his slaves (Cassy and
Emmeline run away)
 Eventually kills Tom because
he refuses to tell Legree where
Cassy and Emmiline ran off to
Master
To Sum it all up
► Novel
exposed many sides of slavery
 Showed the evils of even the “kind” masters who
treated their slave well
 Showed families fighting to stay together
► Although
Tom never attempts to escape, he rebels
by keeping his faith
 Deep religious values impel him to love everyone and
selflessly endure trials
 “no one can buy my soul” Legree tries to “break” Tom
► Reactions?
 How did the North react?
 How did the South react?