Embedded Files
UNIT 10: Divided Nation
UNIT 10: Divided Nation
Lesson: Uncle Toms Cabin
Lesson: Uncle Toms Cabin
8.56 Explain the reasons for and the impact of the Compromise of 1850 (including Henry Clay’s role as “The Great Compromiser”) and the Fugitive Slave Act (including Harriet Beecher Stowe’s influence with Uncle Tom’s Cabin).
8.56 Explain the reasons for and the impact of the Compromise of 1850 (including Henry Clay’s role as “The Great Compromiser”) and the Fugitive Slave Act (including Harriet Beecher Stowe’s influence with Uncle Tom’s Cabin).
Uncle Tom’s cabin
Uncle Tom’s cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in Connecticut in 1811. Her father was a well-known religious leader and abolitionist, and her family was deeply involved in social activism. After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Harriet's commitment to abolitionism became stronger than ever.
Already a published author, Harriet was encouraged by her family to express her views in her writing. The result was a novel that would electrify the nation: Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Harriet Beecher Stowe put a human face to the suffering of slaves. She wanted to prove the injustice of slavery by appealing to her readers emotions.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin tells the story of Tom, a kind and honorable slave, who is treated cruelly by brutal master. Through Tom’s experiences, as well as those of the other characters in the novel, readers witness the terrible effects of slavery.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin caused an immediate sensation. It had an enormous impact on public opinion in the north, leading to increased support for abolition. In the south, however, the novel was rejected as an unfair exaggerated view of slavery. It was even banned in many places. For better or worse, Uncle Tom's Cabin exposed the deep divisions that existed between North and South and brought the nation closer to crisis.
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