Notes on 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and the Antebellum Era

Overview of Harriet Beecher Stowe and "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

• Stowe was an abolitionist who helped runaway slaves through the Underground Railroad.
• She opposed the Fugitive Slave Act, which is subtly critiqued in her work.

Key Characters and Arguments in "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

• Focus on a dialogue between Mr. and Mrs. Byrd regarding the Fugitive Slave Act, highlighting Stowe's feminist arguments against it.
• Mrs. Byrd's character presents the idea that the Fugitive Slave Act contradicts Christian morals, using biblical references.
• Mr. Byrd argues for the Act, claiming it serves "great public interests," essentially defending the interests of plantation owners.

The Fugitive Slave Act

• The term "fugitive" implies criminality—those escaping slavery are considered criminals.
• The South claimed enslaved individuals were content in their situation, but the Act revealed their desire for freedom.

Publication History of "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

• The novel was initially serialized, similar to works by Charles Dickens, allowing for weekly engagement with the story.
• Upon its full publication in 1852, it became a bestseller with 1.5 million copies sold in Great Britain and is noted as the second best-selling book of the 19th century, only behind the Bible.
• The book significantly shifted public perception of slavery from an economic to a humanitarian issue; it highlighted the brutality of slavery.

Reactions to the Novel

• Slaveholders were angered, with some even sending Stowe disturbing items (e.g., a severed ear) and several Southern states banned the book.
• Anti-Uncle Tom novels emerged as a response, portraying enslaved individuals as either content or racially unfit for freedom, leading to 27 different titles being published.

Sectional Tensions and the Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Senator Stephen Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act as a compromise to the sectional divide concerning slavery, advocating for popular sovereignty to determine legality of slavery in the territories.
• The Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, which previously prohibited slavery above the 36°30' parallel, allowing slavery to possibly extend into new territories.
• The passing of the Act resulted in heightened tensions and eventual destruction of the Whig Party as members transitioned into the Democratic Party or the newly formed Know Nothing Party.

Know Nothing Party and Republican Party Formation

• The Know Nothing Party emerged in response to nativist sentiments against immigrants, particularly Catholics, and aimed to deny citizenship to them.
• The Republican Party formed in 1854, consisting of anti-slavery Whigs and Free Soilers, centered around beliefs of preventing slavery's expansion into western territories.
• Their stance on labor motivations highlighted economic concerns rather than moral objections to slavery.

Bleeding Kansas Conflict

• As a direct result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, "Bleeding Kansas" became a battleground wherein both pro- and anti-slavery factions attempted to gain control of the territory.
• Events like the sack of Lawrence and John Brown's retaliatory violence demonstrated the lengths individuals would go to in defense of their beliefs.

Senate Violence

• The issue of slavery reached Congress, exemplified by the violent beating of Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks over a speech opposing slavery.
• Sumner's resulting absence became a martyrdom symbol for abolitionists, while Brooks was celebrated in the South, indicating deepening divides.

Impact on Political Landscape

• The increasing violence and sectional tensions culminated in the presidential election of 1856, with candidates representing varying attitudes towards slavery.
• James Buchanan won as a Democrat and aimed to preserve the status quo regarding slavery, while John C. Fremont represented a Northern anti-slavery stance.

Dred Scott Case

• The 1857 Dred Scott decision ruled against a slave's claim to freedom based on residence in free territories.
• Chief Justice Roger Taney declared that African Americans could not be U.S. citizens, reinforcing pro-slavery ideologies and inflaming Northern opposition.
• Northerners reacted angrily to the ruling, seeing it as evidence of a slaveholder-controlled government, heightening their resolve to oppose slavery.