Harriet B. Stowe

(http://www.cwhf.org)

The most audacious lady who dared to stand up against the slavery in America might be Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of an anti-slavery novel entitled Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Her book was not only the best-selling novel of the 19th century, but also the one that contributed to one of the greatest wars in America, the Civil War (1861-1865).

Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in 1811 in Connecticut, America, as the youngest member in her family. She has got six brothers and four sisters. Her father, Lyman Beecher, was a well-known preacher, and all of her siblings were interested in religion. On the other hand, her mother, Roxana Foote Beecher, was the sister of a renowned minister, Henry Ward Beecher.

Uncle Tom's Cabin (http://www.loc.gov/)

Madam Stowe was raised in the era when slavery was allowed legally. The situation in America at that time was much terrible from the present situation there. The African Americans, who were called the Negro, were treated like beasts by their masters. They were tormented, traded, insisted to desert their family, etc. This condition engraved a deep sadness in her heart, so she wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin which was about a religious dutiful slave, who was whipped till death by his evil master. After reading this novel, people in North America, who were strictly against the slavery, were boiling with rage. Furthermore, they declared a war against people in the South who refused to free all of their slaves.

Although Madam Stowe's novel has become very popular until now, it was criticized by a lot of people. Surprisingly, those criticisms not only came from people who agreed with the slavery. For instance, there were some people who thought that a novel like this should not be written by a woman. Nonetheless, she is indeed a truly hero who inspired the slavery erasure.

(ncwhs.oah.org)

"The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone" -- Harriet Beecher Stowe