US History
Name: ________________________
Socratic Seminar
Perspectives on Slavery: Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Preparation Guide
Published in 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, tells the story of a Christian slave, Uncle Tom, who is
sold by a Kentucky family burdened by debt. Finally, sold again, he dies under the lash of the henchman of a cruel
overseer, Simon Legree, who wants Uncle Tom to accept him instead of God as his master.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin eventually sold over 300,000 copies, sparking intense Northern hatred for the slave system, and
arousing bitter Southern opposition. The book was banned in many Southern states, and prompted a series of works
written in defense of slavery, which came to be known as Anti-Tom Literature. During this seminar we will read and
discuss portions of both Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and an Anti-Tom novel written by Caroline Hentz, called The Planter’s
Northern Bride (1854).
After you read the excerpts from the text, select 3 key quotes from each text and then answer the following questions in
complete sentences, and in your own words. The questions below are the basis for some of the topics and issues
we will discuss in our seminar in class. The more you have thought about these questions, the more prepared you will be
for the discussion.
This completed packet is your ticket to the discussion. It must be completed by the beginning of class on the day of the
discussion, or you will not participate in the discussion.
No late packets will be accepted. NO EXCEPTIONS.
As you read through the excerpts, search for 3 interesting, profound, or significant quotations from each text and record
them in the table below.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
The Planter’s Northern Bride
Texts Used:
Hentz, Caroline Lee. The Planter’s Northern Bride. Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson, 1854. (pp. 14-33).
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1852. (pp. 361 - 375,
459 – 461).
Questions: Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Life Among the Lowly
Chapter 30 – A Slave Warehouse
1. What was happening in the country at the time that Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published? How is it related to these
themes?
2. Abraham Lincoln once introduced Harriet Beecher Stowe as “the little lady that started this big war.” In what ways
did this novel bring about the Civil War? Is this a fair assessment?
3. How did Stowe use religion to strengthen her argument against slavery? How is this related to this era in United
States History?
4. Describe the circumstances of the Slave Auction.
5. Stowe vilifies Legree characterizing him as a deplorable human being. How does she make him sound so terrible,
and how would your average “Southern gentleman” respond to this characterization of slaveholding individuals?
6. In the last paragraph of Chapter 30, a young man claims that it is “considerate, humane men that are responsible for
the brutality and outrage brought upon these wretches.” What is meant by this statement, and is it valid?
Chapter 40 – The Martyr
7. What tactics does Legree use to try to pry information out of Tom? How is this typical/atypical of slave life?
8. How does Tom act in his final hour? His final remarks reflect to Legree reflect an argument people often made
against slavery. Explain that argument.
Questions: The Planter’s Northern Bride
Chapter 1
1. How does the depiction of the two slaveholding men differ in the two novels? (Moreland & Legree)
2. Do you believe this novel was written directly in response to Uncle Tom’s Cabin? What evidence proves or disproves
that this is the case?
3. How did Caroline Hentz use religion to strengthen her argument in favor of slavery? How is this related to this era in
United States History?
4. Describe what happens to the Northern planter when he attempts to sit down to dinner at the inn.
5. In general, how are Northerners portrayed in this novel?
6. What arguments would Southerners give to prove that Slaves in the South were better off than poor wage laborers in
the North? Does this argument have any merit? Would you trade freedom for comfort?
7. How did Moreland’s servant Albert respond to Northerners who tried to convince him to leave his master?
8. In the 3rd to last paragraph of chapter 1, Moreland pondered about the “poor and subservient” classes around the
world comparing Southern slavery to wage labor in the North, and poor serfs in Russia, Ireland, and England. What
was his eventual conclusion and how does this relate to the issue of abolition?
9. Given the title of the book, what do think ends up happening with Moreland and the poor woman he meets that night
outside the inn.
Socratic Seminar
Perspectives on Slavery: Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Discussion Topics
Ethics
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How do the two perspectives of slavery differ?
If the two authors (Stowe & Hentz) what would be their main criticisms of one another?
Is it unethical for Northerners to characterize all Southerners as brutal henchmen like Legree?
Is it unethical for Southerners to characterize all Northerners as unprincipled hypocrites?
Did slaveholders really believe that they were helping slaves live better lives than they would have if they
were not enslaved? Or, were they just trying to justify their actions to others?
Morality
6. How is it possible that both sides consider themselves to be morally superior to the other? Which unique
arguments would each use to defend their moral authority?
7. How is the institution of religion used to differently justify the position of each writer?
8. Why was religious acceptance so important to both writers?
9. Which issues today use religion to justify both sides?
Economics
10. Who appears to be more financially successful (Moreland or Legree)? What purpose does this serve for
each author?
11. What role did Northerners play in the institution of slavery?
12. Does this make them at least partially responsible for the negatives associated with it?
13. What role did slavery play in the expansion of the United States?
14. How would the US be different today if slavery never existed? Or, if it ended with the slave trade in 1808?
15. Should the us make (or have made) reparations for slavery?
Write at least 2 higher level thinking questions in the boxes below that could be used to spur discussion during
our Socratic Seminar.
After the seminar, write a one page reflective essay about your experiences and the discussion.
Perspectives on Slavery – Uncle Tom’s Cabin
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Socratic Seminar – Rubric – Completed by teacher

Complete sentences

Some complete

Portions incomplete.
Study Guide
used.
sentences used.

BELOW AVERAGE job


Participation

EXCELLENT job
answering questions.
Higher – level thinking
evident.
10
Actively participates in
discussion.
10
Score


answering questions.
AVERAGE job answering
questions.
9-6
Speaks at least once in
discussion.

9-6
5-0
Not properly engaged in
discussion.
5-0
/20