Harriet Beecher Stowe
Background
Harriet Beecher Stowe was born on June 14, 1811 in Litchville, CT, to Reverend Lyman and Roxanna Foote Beecher. She was the sixth child of eleven children. Her mom died when she was only fiver years old. The passing of her mom led her to look up to her older sister, Catherine, which later on became a great influence on Harriet's view in abolition.
Harriet's father became very involved in the pro-slavery Cincinnati Riots of 1836. His strong views on this type of idea became part of his children's lives also. On January 6, 1836, Harriet got married to Calvin Ellis Stowe and moved to Brunswick, Maine. Calvin also had a strong belief in abolition
Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850. This law upset the abolitionist and the slaves that were free, severely. Seeing all this, Stowe made up her mind to express her feelings toward this law by observing the life of Josiah Henson, which was the main character in Uncle Tom's Cabin. This book became the best seller of the next year very fast.
The way Stowe showed the reality of the slaves lives, caught the nations attention. Southern people tended to not like this book at all, while the north tool it in and accepted it.
Soon after the beginning of the civil war, Harriet traveled to Washington, DC to meet with the president at the time who was, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's greeting was, "So you are the little woman who started this great was."
She advanced in her writing on political issues of the time, not afraid. She wrote many works ranging from stories, novels, essays, etc. Harriet Beecher Stowe died on July 1, 1896 leaving her legacy of the well known book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Her body was placed at Philips Academy in Massachusetts.