March 20 1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" published

[Valin]

Good time to read 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'

Kevin Alexander Gray

March 19, 2012

 

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” celebrates its 160th anniversary today. The anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe helped inspire the abolitionist cause in the 1850s and played an important part in the run-up to the Civil War.

 

Almost everyone knows of the book. Fewer have actually read it, which is too bad.

 

Stowe’s parents were abolitionists, and she herself had harbored fugitive slaves. A teacher and journalist, she got a look at slavery when she crossed the border into Kentucky from her home in Cincinnati.

 

After Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, she decided to write her book.

 

The plotline depicts the reality of slavery while also suggesting that Christian love can overcome it. The main character, Tom, retains his integrity, defies white authority and refuses to betray his fellow slaves at the cost of his own life. His patience and humility in the face of degradation and brutality make him a heroic figure.

 

(Snip)

 

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nfJGYR7F0w

 

[Rheo]

I'm reading it now.

[Valin]

I'm reading it now.

 

I've never read it, but there are audio books on You Tube + a Showtime movie staring Bruce Dern, that looks good.