Slave Stuff Essays -- essays research papers

The slave trade in Uncle Tom’s Cabin Few books can truly be said to have altered the course of history, and even fewer can be said to have started an entire war. Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was one novel to do both. Abraham Lincoln said to Harriet Beecher Stowe upon meeting her, "So this is the little lady who made this big war.†. Uncle Tom’s Cabin had a tremendous effect on early 19th century thoughts of slavery; stirring abolitionist support in the north. The novel is a realistic, although fictional view of slavery with the images of brutal beatings and unfair slave practices. After reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin thousand of northerners became impassioned for the anti-slavery cause. Uncle Tom's Cabin helped eventually to turn the tide of public opinion against slavery in the 19th century( Taylor 1). This controversial novel was initially written to question slavery, convince people of its immorality and to promote the abolitionist cause. The novel’s rendering of the slave holding south is not entirely an accurate interpretation of what it was like though. Beecher over exaggerated and overlooked several facts in novel, especially pertaining to the practice of slave trading. To have her readers empathize more with the slaves, Beecher put the worst stories in and the cruelest practices of the slave trade depicted by run away slaves. Although most of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is very close to the reality of slavery, many aspects of the slave trade were portrayed inaccurately. One of the first miscalculated aspects of the slave trade is the reason for southern states involvement in the interstate slave trade. Stowe depicted Kentucky’s involvement in the slave trade due to the poor soil of the region and economic ties with the practice. She implied in the beginning half of the Novel that many Kentuckians resorted to being bondmen in the slave trade due to the infertile land of the Bluegrass Region. In Stowe’s Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, (a book designed to muffle the critics of Uncle Tom’s Cabin) she stated that â€Å"Slavery’s subsequent lack of economic viability†¦ [and] prevailing agricultural impoverishment are to blame for Kentucky’s involvement in the notorious traffic†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Stowe 254). On the contrary, Kentucky where the bulk of the slave trade was supposedly concentrated has long been blessed with great fertility. The high phosphorus content a... ...m promoted. Work Cited Harrison, Lowel H. â€Å"The Antislavery Movement in the deep south† UNC at Chapel Hill Libraries Online. 1978. University of North Carolina 5 Jan 2001 <http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/neh.html> Levy, Steven. Slavery in Kentucky. Lancaster Pennsylvania: New Printing Company, Negro universities Press 4-6 McDougle, Ivan E. â€Å"Sketches of America†. Black Studies at Howard University. 1994. 4 Jan 2001. <http://info.greenwood.com/cgi-bin/getidx.pl?SUBJECT=subjINBS> Smith, William Andrew. â€Å"Lectures on Philosophy and Practice of Slavery, as Exhibited in the Institution of Domestic Slavery in the United States: with the Duties of Masters to Slaves: Electronic Edition†. UNC at Chapel Hill Libraries Online. 1802-1870. University of North Carolina 5 Jan 2001 <http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/smith/smith.html>. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Boston, 1853; reprint, New York: Arno Press, 1969: 279 Taylor, Jeremiah. â€Å" Sold Down the River† Genealogy Magazine Online. 13 Nov 1998. Genealogy Magazine. Dec. 2000 <http://www.geneaologymag.com/acad/original/jeremiahtaylor98.htm>.