How Uncle Tom’s Cabin Sparked The Civil War

It’s not often that an author writes not one book that changes the world, but two. Harriet Beacher Stowe was such a writer.

Her other book, An American Woman’s Home, co-written with her mother, gave women intrinsic value for the first time.

Stowe was a big believer in the value of a human being, no matter what. And it was this love of humanity that led her to write her other famous book; Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Though the levels of racism are high, they are intentionally so. At the time the book was written the narrative of ‘happy slaves and loving masters’ was ingrained in the American conscious. People who spoke out against slavery directly were ignored, even among those who owned no slaves.

But Uncle Tom’s Cabin changed that. Though the story itself is fictional, the events were composites of stories told by former slaves who had escaped. It hit people right in the heart, making them see themselves for the monsters they acted like for the first time.