Uncle Tom's Cabin is an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe at the height of the war against slavery in America. The book was initially written in the early parts of the 19th century but has had many editions over time. The book is useful in the study of racial strife and slavery as it covers the period of intense slavery in America. The book offers the reader the effects of the fugitive slave laws that were being implemented in America.
When this novel opens, the reader is taken to a plantation owned by Arthur Shelby. Mr. Shelby is a caring slave owner who enjoys a cordial relationship with all his slaves. Still, unfortunately, his wife, Mrs. Shelby, has incurred debts. The family can only settle the debts through the sale of two slaves. Haley, a coarse slave trader, is the one who decides to buy the slaves, Tom and Harry. Harry is a son to Eliza. Shelby is compelled to agree to the arrangement due to his financial woes.
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Eliza and Tom exhibit different ways of dealing with slavery and the sale of slaves in this book. Eliza refuses to allow his son to be sold; she devises a plan to take her child away before Haley buys him. News then comes through to Eliza that her husband, George, who was in a nearby plantation, has just escaped from her master's cruelty and cannot be of help to her. Eliza has nobody to look up to for help, but as a mother, she loathes the feeling of having her child torn from her. She escapes in the middle of the night, and with her, she carries her son Harry to Ohio River. When Eliza gets to the river, she realizes that the place is choked with ice such that no boat can cross. Unfortunately, for her, Haley drew near, so with sheer determination, zeal, and desperation, grabbed her son, and the two managed to cross to the other shore. Senator Bird, who voted for the fugitive slave act, was the first person to help Eliza. The senator was filled with compassion for the poor woman and her son. Thus, he decided to disobey the very law that he championed for in congress meant to ensure that slaves do not escape from their slave masters. Eliza would later travel further north with the help of the Quaker faith church before reuniting with George. The two then went to Canada as free individuals.
Tom, being a devoted and submissive Christian, gladly agrees to the deal and is taken away by Haley. Upon bidding farewell to his family, Tom is taken south to Ohio and then to the Mississippi Rivers. Harley later takes Tom to the massive slave auction in New Orleans. On his way, Tom witnesses the sufferings of the blacks. He observes young children torn from their mothers and young virgin slaves being sold as sex slaves into prostitution. Uncle Tom develops a friendship bond with Eva St. Clare, a five-year-old daughter of one of the wealthy planters. Eva is angelic; she loves the Christian faith and detests the evils that come with slavery. Eva's father goes by the name St. Augustine Clare, and as a man of conviction, he too does not like slavery but does not act to stop it. Eva dies of tuberculosis, and the father promises Uncle Tom his freedom. It is rather unfortunate that in the story, St. Augustine Clare is killed in a brawl before freeing Tom. St. Augustine Clare's death meant that his wife, Mrs. Clare, was now the rightful owner of Tom. The callous Mrs. Clare proceeds and seals the fate of Uncle Tom by selling him to Simon Legree.
Uncle Tom now descends to the hell-pit of slavery as his new slave master, Simon Legree, is cruel. The Red River plantation owned by Simon Legree is a place where faith is not allowed, and male slaves are prohibited from having their wives with them or even talking to female slaves. Legree becomes enraged by Uncle Tom's piety and goodness and does everything in his power to destroy the two traits. Uncle Tom manages to marshals all the necessary strength and resists this attempt by the master. All the other slaves owned by Legree were defeated in spirit and were already dehumanized, but Uncle Tom was not ready to fall into the same pit. Cassie, the embattled slave mistress to Legree, even begs Uncle Tom to help her kill Legree, but again. Uncle Tom, being a Christian, refuses, as this is a sin to him. Legree would later beat Uncle Tom, killing him in the process.
As Eliza and George step on the shores of Canada for their freedom, they escape the sufferings that come with the fugitive slave laws. On the other hand, Tom dies because of the fugitive slave laws, which were being implemented in America by the white supremacists supporting slavery.
Reference
Stowe, H. B. (2014). Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or, Life among the Lowly . Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group.
