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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page research paper/essay that examines this novel and its historical context. As the American Civil War was going on, President Abraham Lincoln is said to have commented when he meet Harriet Beecher Stowe that her novel had served as a “catalyst for war.” Reportedly, at the 1862 encounter, Lincoln said, “’So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.’” Regardless as to whether or not this anecdote is accurate, it indicates the huge influence that Stowe’s first and best-known novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, had on the consciousness of the troubled United States. This novel was very much a product of Northern abolitionist sentiment. Therefore, to understand this novel, it is first necessary to understand the historical context in which it was written. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khutchis.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
novel had served as a "catalyst for war."1 Reportedly, at the 1862 encounter, Lincoln said, "So youre the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war."2 Regardless
as to whether or not this anecdote is accurate, it indicates the huge influence that Stowes first and best-known novel, Uncle Toms Cabin, had on the consciousness of the troubled
United States. This novel was very much a product of Northern abolitionist sentiment. Therefore, to understand this novel, it is first necessary to understand the historical context in which
it was written. In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law, which allowed Southern slave owners "to apprehend and recover their property from free states," without first going through the
due process of law.3 This move on the part of the federal government greatly angered many Northerners, particularly hose involved in the abolitionist movement. As part of the response that
this law generated, Harriet Beecher Stowe began work on what would become her most famous, and most "hotly-debated" novel.4 A highly "sentimental," as well as melodramatic novel, Uncle Toms Cabin
was first published as a 40-part serial in an abolitionist weekly magazine entitled the National Era, beginning during the summer of 1851 and was subsequently published as a book in
1852.5 Stowes portrayal of the cruelty of slavery generated "horror in the North and outrage in the South," as Southerners perceived it as inaccurate and unjust in its criticism of
their "peculiar institution."6 Initially, the novel was criticized by whites who thought Stowes portrayal of blacks was too positive; and then, in the twentieth century, it has been criticized
by Black Americans who feel that the portrayals are "oversimplified and stereotypical."7 However, one interprets the novel today, it had a definite effect on the moral consciousness of the North
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