Born Harriet Elizabeth Beecher (1811-1896), an abolitionist, and writer of more than 10 books, the most famous being Uncle Tom’s Cabin which describes life in slavery, and which was first published in serial form from 1851 to 1852 in an abolitionist organ, the National Era, edited by Gamaliel Bailey. Her second novel was Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp, another anti-slavery novel.
When Stowe met Abraham Lincoln in 1862 (during the Civil War), he allegedly greeted her, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!”
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
Names to associate with Uncle Tom’s Cabin:
1. Uncle Tom
2. Shelby family
3. Eliza
4. Tom Loker
5. Cassy
The book opens with a Kentucky farmer named Arthur Shelby about to lose his farm due to massive debts. Even though he and his wife (Emily Shelby) believe they have a benevolent relationship with their slaves, Shelby decides to raise money by selling two of his slaves — Uncle Tom, a middle-aged man with a wife and child, and Harry, the son of Emily Shelby’s maid Eliza — to a slave trader. Emily Shelby hates to do this because she had promised Eliza that Shelby would not sell her son, while her son, George Shelby, hates to see Tom go because he considers the slave to be his friend.
When Eliza overhears a conversation between the slave trader and his wife, she warns Uncle Tom, then takes Harry and flees to the North. The slave trader, Mr. Haley, pursues Eliza but she escapes capture by crossing into the free state of Ohio, so Haley hires a slave hunter named Tom Loker to bring Eliza and Harry back to Kentucky. Meanwhile, Eliza and Harry arrive in a safe Quaker settlement, where they are joined by Eliza’s husband George, who had escaped earlier. He agrees to go with his wife and child to Canada, via the Underground Railroad.
While all of this is happening, Uncle Tom is sold and taken down the Mississippi River by the slave trader to a slave market. On the boat, Tom meets a young white girl named Eva, who quickly befriends him. When Eva falls into the river, Tom saves her. In gratitude, Eva’s father, Augustine St. Clare, buys Tom from Haley and take him with the family to their home in New Orleans.
As George and Eliza attempt to reach Canada, they are cornered by Loker and his men, causing George to shoot Loker. Worried that Loker may die, Eliza convinces George and the Quakers to bring the slave hunter to a nearby Quaker settlement for medical treatment. Meanwhile, in New Orleans, St. Clare debates slavery with his cousin Ophelia, who opposes slavery but also hates black people. St. Clare, by contrast, says he feels no hostility against blacks but tolerates slavery because he is powerless to change it. To help Ophelia overcome her bigotry, he buys Topsy, a young black girl who was abused by her past master, and asks Ophelia to educate her.
After Tom has lived with the St. Clares for two years, Eva grows very ill. She eventually dies, but not before she has a vision of heaven, which she shares with the people around her. Her death has a profound effect on everyone. Ophelia resolves to love her slaves, Topsy says she will learn to trust others, and St. Clare decides to set Tom free as he promised to his daughter before her death. However, before he can do so St. Clare gets stabbed to death while trying to end a fight.
St. Clare’s cruel wife, Marie, sells Tom to a vicious plantation owner named Simon Legree. Tom is taken to rural Louisiana with other new slaves such as Emmeline, whom Legree purchased as a sex slave. Legree takes a strong dislike to Tom when he refuses Legree’s order to whip a fellow slave. Tom receives a severe beating, and Legree resolves to crush Tom’s faith in God. While at the plantation, Tom meets Cassy, who was Legree’s previous sex slave. Casey was previously separated from her daughter by slavery. When she became pregnant again she killed her child to save the child from the same fate.
At this time Tom Loker returns to the story. Loker is now a changed man after being healed by the Quakers. In addition, George, Eliza, and Harry obtained their freedom after they cross over into Canada. In Louisiana, Tom almost loses his faith in God due to the hardships of the plantation. However, he has two visions — one of Jesus and one of Eva — which renew his strength and faith. He encourages Cassy to escape, which she does so, taking Emmeline with her. When Tom refuses to tell Legree where Cassy and Emmeline have gone, the cruel master had him beaten to near death. As Tom is dying, he forgives Legree and Legree’s overseers. George Shelby (Authur Shelby’s son) arrives with money in hand to buy Tom’s freedom, but he is too late. He can only watch as Tom dies a martyr’s death.
On their boat ride to freedom, Cassy and Emmeline meet George Harris’s sister and travel with her to Canada, where Cassy realizes that Eliza is her long-lost daughter. The newly reunited family travel to France and eventually Liberia, the African nation created for former American slaves. George Shelby returns to the Kentucky farm, where, after his father’s death, he sets all the slaves free in honor of Tom’s memory. Before they go, he tells them to remember Tom’s sacrifice every time they look at his cabin and to lead a pious Christian life, just as Tom did.
Vade Mecum 