Books- Uncle Tom's Cabin

The story focuses on Tom, a strong, religious man living with his wife and 3 young children, and Eliza, Harry's mother. To protect her son, Eliza runs away, making a dramatic escape over the frozen Ohio River with Harry in her arms. Tom protects his family by choosing not to run away so the others may stay together. The novel ends when both Tom and Eliza escape slavery: Eliza and her family reach Canada; but Tom's freedom comes with death. Simon Legree, Tom's third and final master, has Tom whipped to death for refusing to deny his faith or betray the hiding place of two fugitive women.

The publishing of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' in 1852 changed the way Americans viewed slavery. It opened up their eyes to its inhumanity, it showed that slaves are people, not just property. She argued that "the enslaving of the African race is a clear violation of the great law which commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves" (Harriet Beecher Stowe)

Summary from the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center Website:

Reception:

Harriet Beecher Stowe (national archives)

Uncle Toms Cabin For Sale Poster (3quarksdaily)