Harriet Beecher Stowe

harriet beecher stowe (about.com)

My hero is Harriet Beecher Stowe. Harriet was born in Litchfield, Connecticut. She was born on June 14, 1811. Harriet was the seventh child born to her father, Lyman Beecher and his first wife, Roxana. Her two sister’s names were Catherine and Mary and her stepsister’s name was Isabella. Her son’s name was Fredrick who had battled in the Union army in 1861. Her mother died when Harriet was five years old. Harriet's father married two more times.

harriet beecher stowe (freeonlinepicture.com)

Harriet's mother died of tuberculosis in 1816 - Harriet was just 5 years old. Her father called her a, "genius" and enrolled her in Miss Sara Pierce's school - the most prestigious school for girls in Litchfield. By age 16, she was a full-time teacher. In 1833, Harriet's first newspaper article was published. In 1936, Harriet married Calvin Stowe and had twin girls, had a son Henry and another son named, Frederick. In August of 1843, Harriet gave birth to her fifth child, Georgiana May, which affected her health and left her bedridden for months. In the summer of 1849, she had a son, Samuel Charles who died in the worst cholera epidemic. Her husband was offered a job at Bowdin College in Maine and her family gladly headed to New England. In 1862, she met President Abraham Lincoln. The issue of slavery was very disturbing to Harriet and was a reality to her and her family. Nine million Africans were kidnapped and enslaved in America.

Harriet had many hardships and struggles throughout her life. She lost her mother at a young age and she also had to deal with the death of her child, Samuel. She fought and struggled very hard to have the slave laws passed. They did pass in 1850. Her hardest struggles were her father’s death in 1863 because they had been very close. Her mother’s death was very hard for her because she never got to know her. The hardest thing for Harriet was letting her son go fight for the army, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

I think my hero definitely reminds me of Superman, because she was always there when you needed her. She fought for a very powerful cause. If Harriet hadn’t put her effort and courage into her fighting and standing up for herself in her writing, then we might still be going through those hard struggles in slavery. She saved a lot of people from pain and suffering, and I thank her.

Harriet died in 1896. Her writing was an inspiration to us all, and it was tragic for her to die.I think that Harriet definitely teaches us that we are unique in our own ways and we need to show that by standing up for our beliefs and taking advantage of our own creativity. If your talent is writing then use your talent and maybe someday you too could be our hero by expressing yourself through writing.