Who Was Harriet Beecher Stowe [Paperback]

Born in Connecticut in 1811, Harriet Beecher Stowe was an abolitionist, author, and playwright. Slavery was a major industry in the American South, and Stowe worked with the Underground Railroad to help escaped slaves head north towards freedom. The publication of her book,Uncle Tom’s Cabin,a scathing anti-slavery novel, fanned the flames that started the Civil War. The book’s emotional portrayal of the impact of slavery captured the nation’s attention. A best-seller in its time,Uncle Tom’s Cabinsealed Harriet Beecher Stowe’s reputations as one of the most influential anti-slavery voices in US history.Dana Meachen Rau has written more than 300 books for children, including picture books, early readers, nonfiction, and biographies.

Who Was Harriet Beecher Stowe? 

 
During the 1800s, the economy of the southern United States boomed with the production of cotton. Many white plantation owners became rich growing it. They relied on black slaves to work their fields and harvest the cotton. These slaves were not treated as people. They were property to buy and sell, just like livestock or farm equipment.
 
In 1850, the US Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act. It stated that anyone caught giving food, shelter, or help of any kind to an escaped slave would have to pay a $1,000 fine and spend six months in jail. The people of the United States had long been divided over the issue of slavery. This new law meant that even those who were against slavery could offer no help. If they assisted runaway slaves in any way, they would be breaking the law. Slaves who managed to escape to the North could not be protected.
 
When this law passed, Harriet Beecher Stowe was a writer and mother, living in Brunswick, Maine. She and her family had long been against slavery. But she was especially horrified by stories she heard of slave owners forcibly taking back slaves who had escaped to freedom. Nló#