Abstract
Reacting to oppression, and. its consequent cruelty, Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1851 wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. The novel was a reply to the evils of the slave system. For too long a time, an attitude of heartless submissiveness to slavery was noted in the united States. Sincere citizens of the North and the South alike saw its injustice. But either through the want of leadership, or through the fault of ignorance, these groups lacked the determination to make slavery an issue and to abolish the institution. The feeling and courage of a friend of humanity was needed. Mrs. Stowe assumed this role. With her, the harrowing scenes of cruelty amounted to disgrace; Christian charity and righteousness rose to honor and respect. Then, upon the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, a new era of thought was ushered in; and its effects were soon felt not only in America tut also in the Old World.