Writing Uncle Tom's Cabin
The passage of the
Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 stirred Stowe to the
abolitionist side. Her sister-in-law wrote her saying, "Harriet, if I could use a pen as you can, I would write something that would make this whole nation feel what an accursed thing slavery is." After reading this aloud to her children Harriet dramatically crumpled the paper in her hand and said, "I will write something if I live." While at church she is said to have had a vision of "Uncle Tom's death" and was reportedly moved to tears. Immediately she went to her home and started writing her book.
Stowe began researching slavery. She interviewed fugitive slaves and slave owners with all points of views, and read several books. Later in 1851, with the help of
William Lloyd Garrison, the editor of the abolitionist newspaper
The Liberator, Stowe began publishing fictional sketches. These appeared during 1851 in the Cincinnati abolitionist newspaper,
The National Era under the title "Uncle Tom's Cabin" or "Life Among the Lowly". Her main character is widely believed to have been based on
Josiah Henson, who published his own account of being enslaved. After prompting from readers and her husband, who believed in her story's power to change the mind, she published her sketches as a two volume book in 1852. Within a week of its release in the U.S., her book sold a phenomenal 10,000 copies, and 300,000 the first year. Sales were even higher in Britain. By 1854, her book had been translated into 60 different languages.
Stowe's book had an astounding effect on the northern states of America. Thousands more flocked to the
abolitionist side. However, the rift dividing the north and south deepened. Many in the south denied that the book was a true account of southern life, and took it as a slanderous accusation. The book was banned in southern states, and anyone in possession of it could be arrested. In their defense, southerners wrote mocking books praising the good of slavery such as "Aunt Phillis's Cabin; or Southern Life as it is." In response, Stowe gathered all her information and wrote, "A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin," written to prove she had researched her topic. Yet it was not read as widely in the south as elsewhere.
However, across
the Atlantic in
Great Britain, the message of Uncle Tom was also embraced, supported from its inception by the powerful advocate
Rev. James Sherman in London. In 1853 Harriet went on a visit to
Europe, In
London she was a guest of
Sherman at
Surrey Chapel, who asisted her arrangements for a speaking tour to promote the book. Upon her arrival in
England she was given a very warm welcome and was presented with an address, known as the Affectionate and Christian Address, from the
Anti-Slavery Society, with over half a million signatures from women of all classes. This was given to her in 26 volumes; her reply was printed in the
Atlantic Monthly. The head of the Anti-Slavery Society, the Duchess of Sutherland, became close friends with Harriet as well.
At the beginning of the
American Civil War in 1861, Great Britain's consideration to join the South in this onslaught moved Stowe to reply to the British people reminding them of their commitment to the slaves. Britain remained neutral throughout the war. In her journal Stowe wrote about her feelings about the War. She said, "It was God’s will that this nation—both North and South—should deeply and terribly suffer for the sin of consenting to and encouraging the great oppressions of the South... the blood of the poor slave, that had cried so many years from the ground in vain, should be answered by the blood of the sons from the best hearthstones through all the free states." In 1862, Stowe went to see Lincoln to pressure him to free the slaves faster. Her daughter Hattie, who was present at the meeting between Stowe and Lincoln, reports the first thing Lincoln said was, "Hi! So you're the little lady who wrote the book that started this Great War."
