Hello Everyone,
My name is Harriet Beecher Stowe. The most important things to know about me is that I am an author and an abolitionist. I was born and raised in Litchfield, Connecticut with my older sister Catherine and my brother Henry. I have been lucky enough in my early life where I was able to travel and meet various people which introduced me too other cultures and ways of life. I was always very curious and intrigued by the differences rather than afraid and judgmental as others may easily be. Thanks to my father's line of work. I was also introduced to intellectual f people and, in listening to their stories, I started to realize that slavery was not something that I could ever stand for. Unfortunately, in 1849, a nightmare that I still have not
recovered from, I lost my son who died in a cholera (collar-ra) epidemic that claimed nearly three thousand lives. After losing him, I started thinking about all the enslaved mothers who had their children sold away from them. How could anyone do that to another human being? This absolutely needs to stop. Why should any person own another person regardless of their color, culture, poverty, etc. There is no excuse for such inhumane behavior. When the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, which legally forced the Northern States to return runaway slaves, I was absolutely infuriated. Therefore, I wrote my most famous work, Uncle Tom's Cabin, as I wanted this story to influence Northerners to defy the Fugitive Slave Act and not return the runaway slaves to the South. In writing this book, I wanted to educate people on the harsh and painful conditions of the slaves. I wanted the North, as well as other countries, to see the horrible way the South was treating these poor people. I wanted to unveil the ugliness of slavery. When I was fifty-one, I met with President Abraham Lincoln while I was visiting Washington, DC. Lincoln said to me, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great War!” I told him I certainly did not start the war, but how my book did emphasize the differences between the North and South. I explained how my book was more of an awakening call for the Northern to realize how unjust slavery was for the first time. I am also a very devout Christian, and we are taught to love and respect one another, not treat another human being as if they are simply a thing with no feelings, no family, no worth. I used my fame to petition to end slavery. I pushed to tour nationally and internationally, speaking about my book and anti-slavery and donated some of what I earned to help the antislavery cause. I dedicated my life to anti-slavery and hope that you will too. Please think about that poor mother without her child, that father without his child, a wife without her husband, a husband without his wife. Families torn apart and treated with harshness. What if this was you or someone you loved? You can visit a few landmarks that are dedicated to my memory, which makes me very proud. They are in several states including Ohio, Florida, Maine, and Connecticut. The locations of these landmarks show different stages of my life like where I grew up, and where I wrote my first novel. So, I hope you can visit them some day. Thank you for giving your time of day and I hope you now have a clearer view on why I was an abolitionist and the purpose of everything I have done.
Links:
https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/harriet-beecher-stowe/harriet-beecher-stowe-life/
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/harriet-beecher-stowe
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