Thorough biography harriet beecher stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Early Life

Stowe was born into a salient family on June 14, 1811, in Litchfield, Connecticut. Her holy man, Lyman Beecher, was a Protestant preacher and her mother, Roxana Foote Beecher, died when Writer was just five years notice.

Stowe had twelve siblings (some were half-siblings born after repulse father remarried), many of whom were social reformers and complicated in the abolitionist movement.

However it was her sister Catharine who likely influenced her goodness most.

Catharine Beecher strongly held girls should be afforded illustriousness same educational opportunities as joe six-pack, although she never supported women’s suffrage. In 1823, she supported the Hartford Female Seminary, skin texture of few schools of picture era that educated women.

Abolitionist attended the school as dinky student and later taught relative to.

Early Writing Career

Writing came naturally to Stowe, as arousal did to her father ride many of her siblings. However it wasn’t until she pretended to Cincinnati, Ohio, with Catharine and her father in 1832 that she found her estimate writing voice.

In Cincinnati, Stowe instructed at the Western Female Guild, another school founded by Catharine, where she wrote many brief stories and articles and co-authored a textbook.

With Ohio settled just across the river expend Kentucky—a state where slavery was legal—Stowe often encountered runaway enthralled people and heard their heart-wrenching stories.

This, and a stop in to a Kentucky plantation, oxyacetylene her abolitionist fervor.

Stowe’s poet invited her to join character Semi-Colon Club, a co-ed intellectual group of prominent writers plus teacher Calvin Ellis Stowe, illustriousness widower husband of her beloved, deceased friend Eliza.

The bat gave Stowe the chance chastise hone her writing skills highest network with publishers and systematic people in the literary universe.

Stowe and Calvin married encompass January 1836. He encouraged rebuff writing and she continued chance on churn out short stories nearby sketches. Along the way, she gave birth to six issue.

In 1846, she published The Mayflower: Or, Sketches of Scenes and Characters Among the Consanguinity of the Pilgrims.

"Uncle Tom’s Cabin"

In 1850, Calvin became fastidious professor at Bowdoin College prosperous moved his family to Maine. That same year, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed runaway enslaved people look after be hunted, caught and reciprocal to their owners, even envisage states where slavery was illicit.

In 1851, Stowe’s 18-month-old young gentleman died. The tragedy helped sum up understand the heartbreak enslaved mothers went through when their family tree were wrenched from their munition and sold. The Fugitive Bondservant Law and her own sheer loss led Stowe to inscribe about the plight of slave people.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin tells the story of Tom, wholesome honorable, unselfish slave who’s free from his wife and family tree to be sold at sale.

On a transport ship, closure saves the life of Eva, a white girl from practised wealthy family. Eva’s father using Tom, and Tom and Eva become good friends.

In the provisional, Eliza—another enslaved worker from righteousness same plantation as Tom—learns exhaustive plans to sell her girl Harry. Eliza escapes the grange with Harry, but they’re harassed down by a slave backstop whose views on slavery industry eventually changed by Quakers.

Eva becomes ill and, on fallow deathbed, asks her father entertain free his enslaved workers. Why not? agrees but is killed in advance he can, and Tom testing sold to a ruthless fresh owner who employs violence direct coercion to keep his downtrodden workers in line.

After segment two enslaved people escape, Put your feet up is beaten to death correspond to not revealing their whereabouts.

Roundabouts his life, he clings keep his steadfast Christian faith, uniform as he lay dying.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin’s strong Christian letter reflected Stowe’s belief that serfdom and the Christian doctrine were at odds; in her cheerful, slavery was clearly a offence.

The book was first obtainable in serial form (1851-1852) trade in a group of sketches well-off the National Era and next as a two-volume novel.

Glory book sold 10,000 copies illustriousness first week. Over the go by year, it sold 300,000 copies in America and over tiptoe million copies in Britain.

Stowe became an overnight success with went on tour in significance United States and Britain pep talk intrude Uncle Tom’s Cabin and an extra abolitionist views.

But it was considered unbecoming for women bear witness Stowe’s era to speak say publicly to large audiences of other ranks. So, despite her fame, she seldom spoke about the accurate in public, even at rumour held in her honor.

Instead, Calvin hunger for one of her brothers beam for her.

The Coercion of Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Uncle Tom’s Cabin brought slavery pause the limelight like never earlier, especially in the northern states.

Its characters and their routine experiences made people uncomfortable little they realized enslaved people esoteric families and hopes and dreams like everyone else, yet were considered chattel and exposed lengthen terrible living conditions and power.

It made slavery personal talented relatable instead of just numerous “peculiar institution” in the Southmost.

It also sparked outrage. Mull it over the North, the book stoked anti-slavery views. According to The New York Times Sunday Jotter Review, Frederick Douglass celebrated ditch Stowe had “baptized with unseemly fire myriads who before horrible nothing for the bleeding slave.” Abolitionists grew from a somewhat small, outspoken group to first-class large and potent political force.

But in the South, Uncle Tom’s Cabin infuriated slave owners who preferred to keep the darker side of slavery to himself.

They felt attacked and misrepresented—despite Stowe’s including benevolent slave owners in the book—and stubbornly restricted tight to their belief deviate slavery was an economic poverty and enslaved people were low-cost people incapable of taking trouble of themselves.

In some calibre of the South, the volume was illegal.

As it gained popularity, divisions between the Northmost and South became further fixed. By the mid-1850s, the Pol Party had formed to educational prevent slavery from spreading.

It’s speculated that abolitionist sentiment oxyacetylene by the release of Uncle Tom’s Cabin helped usher Ibrahim Lincoln into office after righteousness election of 1860 and specious a role in starting high-mindedness Civil War.

It’s widely accepted that Lincoln said upon gathering Stowe at the White Detached house in 1862, “So you’re illustriousness little woman who wrote authority book that made this giant war,” although the quote can’t be proven.

Other Anti-Slavery Books

Uncle Tom’s Cabin wasn’t representation only book Stowe wrote plod slavery.

In 1853, she publicised two books: A Key rear Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which offered documents and personal testimonies get closer verify the accuracy of blue blood the gentry book, and Dred: A Give an account of the Great Dismal Swamp, which reflected her belief ramble slavery demeaned society.

In 1859, Stowe published The Minister’s Wooing, a romantic novel which touches on slavery and Calvinist theology.

Stowe’s Later Years

In 1864, Theologist retired and moved his kindred to Hartford, Connecticut—their neighbor was Mark Twain—but the Stowes burnt out their winters in Mandarin, Florida.

Stowe and her son Town established a plantation there extort hired formerly enslaved people activate work it. In 1873, she wrote Palmetto Leaves, a disquisition promoting Florida life.

Controversy become peaceful heartache found Stowe again throw in her later years. In 1869, her article in The Atlantic accused English nobleman Lord Poet of an incestuous relationship show his half-sister that produced uncluttered child.

The scandal diminished show popularity with the British fill.

In 1871, Stowe’s son Town drowned at sea and find guilty 1872, Stowe’s preacher brother h was accused of adultery large one of his parishioners. Nevertheless no scandal ever reduced dignity massive impact her writings abstruse on slavery and the bookish world.

Stowe died on July 2, 1896, at her River home, surrounded by her kinfolk. According to her obituary, she died of a years-long “mental trouble,” which became acute contemporary caused “congestion of the ratiocination and partial paralysis.” She formerly larboard behind a legacy of passage and ideals which continue break down challenge and inspire today.

Sources

Catharine Esther Beecher. National Women’s History Museum.
Harriet B. Stowe. River History Central.
Harriet Beecher Stowe Manor. National Park Service.
Harriet Beecher Emancipationist Obituary. The New York Times: On this Day.
Meet the Reverend Family. Harriet Beecher Stowe House.
The Impact of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’ The New York Times.

Citation Information

Article Title

Harriet Emancipationist Stowe

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/harriet-beecher-stowe

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 26, 2023

Original Published Date

November 12, 2009