Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher was born on June 14th, in the year of 1811. Mrs. Stowe had twelve siblings. And her parents expected her and her siblings to shape the world around them. She had believed her purpose in life was to write. Stowe took part in lively debates at the family table. She loved to discuss and debate over current events and social issues, for doing this had taught her how to argue persuasively. In 1824, Stowe became a student then a teacher at Hartford Female Seminary, and there she would expand on her writing talents.

Harriet Beecher Stowe had published more than 30 novels, but her best selling novel was called Uncle Toms Cabin. In 1851 the National era publisher Gamaliel Bailey contracted with her for a story that would “paint a word picture of slavery” and it would run in part time payment in the abolitionist newspaper. Stowe expected her novel: Uncle Toms Cabin to be three or four chapters, but she ended up writing over 40. Her success to writing this Novel helped bring financial security and allowed her to have a full time job as a writer. This famous novel exposed the truth about the greatest social injustice in her time which was human slavery. This novel had raised her to be an international celebrity and saved her a place in history, to be remembered by. Mrs. Stowe believed that her actions could make a positive impact and it did.

Some quotes by Mrs. Stowe are
“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”
Another quote she wrote was
“ I must speak for the oppressed - who cannot speak for themselves .”

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s significance was that she provoked anti-slavery forces and changed, peoples minds on human slavery by writing, her famous novel, uncle Tom’s Cabin. This novel ended the institution of slavery. Her book shared ideas about the injustice of slavery, pushing back against the main culture beliefs about the physical and emotional capacity of African Americans. Mrs. Stowe’s novel encouraged others to speak out, furthering the relations between northern and southern states, and advancing the nations march towards the Civil War.

My opinion: I think that Harriet Beecher Stowe is a very important historical author and world changing person. I like how her intention and motive was to positively change the world and how she followed through with writing her famous novel which actually did make a huge difference on people’s thoughts of human slavery, and forever changed the world with her captivating words.

Essential question: how does family shape our values and beliefs? Harriet, Beecher Stowe’s parents wanted their children to make a difference in the world, and so they had high expectations for their children to become great people in their life. So throughout Harriet’s life she had that idea implemented in her head, and she wanted to carry it out and that was one of her main values to do something good in the world because of what her parents told her when she was little. And so family can shape your what you value in life.

Harriet Beecher Stowe
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”