Just how popular was this book? How did it influence folks in the 1850s?
Let's take a look at a few primary sources. Read:
- an article from The Liberator dated April 9, 1852
- a book review from The National Era dated April 15, 1852
- a letter to the editor of The Independent by a woman named Anna dated June 10, 1852
Select one quote - a powerful, persuasive line - from each source and copy it in your notebook. Then synthesize the sources. What do these sources teach us about the influence of Stowe's book? Draw at least three different conclusions and write them down in your notebook.
Brandi McCandless wrote an article called Slavery's Destruction of Domestic Life in Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. In this paper she argues that Stowe targeted white, Christian women who were sensitive to a mother's need to establish a stable, domestic environment. She writes:
"Knowing her audience would be primarily white women, Stowe played on their feelings of uneasiness and guilt over the treatment of slaves, especially those of the Northern white women who could help with the Abolitionist movement, by introducing her readers to seemingly real characters suffering from the injustice of slavery. This can be seen even in the style in which Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written; Stowe directly addresses her readers, forcing them to consider slavery from the point of view of the enslaved...Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a sentimental novel; it was meant to appeal to the unsettled emotions that existed in the reader’s mind, creating a sense of guilt and injustice, making them see how slavery destroys human lives and families. Through the introduction of these Southern families, Stowe demonstrates how slavery corrupts and ultimately eliminates domestic stability."
Today I want you to test this conclusion by working in groups (no more than 3 students to a group) to analyze one chapter of the book. You can choose from any of the six chapters listed below. You can view them online here:
- Chapter 4, "An Evening in Uncle Tom's Cabin"
- Chapter 5, "Showing the Feelings of Living Property on Changing Owners"
- Chapter 7, "The Mother's Struggle"
- Chapter 12, "Select Incident of Lawful Trades"
- Chapter 30, "The Slave Warehouse"
What evidence can you find to support the idea that Stowe targeted white, Christian women who were sensitive to a mother's need to establish a stable, domestic environment? How does Stowe portray the lives of slaves, particularly female slaves? How does Stowe portray the lives of female slaveowners? Why would a swing in opinion by white, Northern women matter? Could that, as Lincoln put it, really start the war?
You should write your response as a comment on this post. Include at least two quotes in your response. I highly recommend that you type your response in Word first. Put your first names only at the end of your response so we know who wrote it.
