where to begin when there is not yet an ending…
i have finished harriet beecher stowe's uncle tom's cabin and it has been a very long time since i have wept so much throughout reading any book.
i am not sure whether my tears were for uncle tom, eliza, george, eva and the others who lived through the pages of this story or for our own generation, many who live now that still have yet to learn and grow past the hate told of so long ago.
even more poignant is this story now when stowe tells at the close of her book how each of these characters and their stories were based on real people, real incidences. the pain to the heart of the reader increases when confronted with the reality of those portrayed so vividly by stowe. it is no wonder that her book challenged a nation to rise and confront the brutality of slavery and the very immorality that had, to that point in history, been accepted and justified by both the actions and inactions of our young nation.
how and why is this story still so relevant today? oh, where to begin. please leap across that frozen orange river and join me to look closely in the mirror of our world to see that sad reflection of the past still staring out at us today.
where to begin…
for those who have only seen snippets of this book in the silent film made in the early 1900s, i would strongly urge you to read the book. it is a lengthy read, a sad read interspersed with hope in-between the suffering.
the book encompasses the story of the sale of two slaves: tom and eliza's young son, harry. they are owned by a kind family who falls on difficult times financially and mr. shelby is forced to sell two of his slaves to the slave broker who holds the note on his property. eliza, though always being treated well, takes her son and flees into the unknown, hostile world to save her child from an unknown destiny, one that may not be kind. she is pursued by the vengeful slave trader, angry that he is losing one of his purchases. tom accepts his fate as the only means of protecting his wife, his children and the other slaves who would be sold if he refuses to go with the slave trader. his is the ultimate sacrifice of his own life for those that he loves.
stowe swiftly goes from story to story to allow us a glimpse into the uncertain futures facing both the both the runaway, eliza, and tom, who moves from master to master at fate's cruel whim. she shows us slaves who are considered nothing more than a sum on a balance sheet, mere objects with no recourse. tom's sale first takes him to, at first, a very kind family where he is respected and well-treated. on the eve of his "mass'a" signing his papers to free him, the young man is killed, leaving tom to be sold to a cruel and vicious slaveholder. how tom makes his cruel life acceptable is in his ministering to the slaves with whom he exists by nurturing their spirits and souls. he is able to accept that which he cannot change and to effect a better life for those suffering around him. he brings hope to those who are desolate, he brings inner peace to those who have given up.
eliza, fleeing with her young son, sets out to try to find her husband, george. george has told her of his plans to try to reach canada and freedom. when they reconnect near the end of their journey northward, after their near capture at the hands of bounty hunters, it is with the protection of quakers (who were very active in the underground railroad at great risks to themselves).
along these different journeys, we are introduced to many characters who tear at our hearts: the young mother and her baby who were lied to by her master about the reason for her journey; the "compassionate" buyer who purchases her infant; the slave trader who suggests taking away her child while she is distracted will make it easier for her to accept; her final act of courage. we meet at a slave auction the old and feeble woman who watches her last child sold and taken from her. these people come alive in our minds with each betrayal, especially when knowing that each of these incidents was repeated many times in the slave markets and trade in this nation.
the words of harriet beecher stowe in the final chapter of her book, however, bring these stories to one of personal responsibility. stowe researched her work by corresponding to former slaves frederick douglass and henry bibb, among others. (for links to this and more history, the first part of are here.) also, her own firsthand knowledge and experience interacting with servants (who were both freed and runaways) are combined with her brother's experiences to shape uncle tom's cabin.). these were her stories as much as those of the slaves about whom she wrote.
this is a story of de-humanization, justification, greed and negligence, not unlike what occurs today in our modern society based on economic manipulation. the overwhelming quest for money now, just as in stowe's day, draws a powerful parallel to that past as individuals still suffer and are abused and left to die.
as stowe takes us alongside those who deal in human trafficking, we see the good, the bad and the very ugly without the author sanitizing that which is portrayed for us. she conveys the deplorable actions of the slave-holder as well as the justifications rendered by those who did nothing to stop this abuse. it is no wonder that abraham lincoln remarked when meeting her purportedly said, "so this is the little lady that started this great war!"
her description of eliza's desperate crossing the ohio river by leaping from ice flow to ice flow was taken from a true incident, as was the recounting of old prue's story (from personal observations by her brother). simon legree also was based on a real slave holder, stowe's brother actually occasioned a visit to plantation owner for business and saw the degenerative nature of the planter, saying that when he left,
"…I drew a long breath, and felt as if I had escaped from an ogre's den."
he could escape. the slaves could not. runaway slaves were chased with dogs, with whips, with guns, sometimes by other slaves, and often had a bounty on their heads - dead OR alive.
how did the injustices of this era not come to be challenged? during this time, no person of colored lineage (any person born with slave bloodlines) was allowed to testify in court in a suit against a white. stowe succinctly points out the lack of legal protection in the courts for slaves to challenge the brutality and vicious acts perpetrated against them.
"Let it be remembered that in all southern states it is a principle of jurisprudence that no person of colored lineage can testify in a suit against a white, and it will be easy to see that such a case may occur, wherever there is a man whose passions outweigh his interests, and a slave who has manhood or principle enough to resist his will. There is, actually, nothing to protect the slave's life, but the character of the master."
Stowe, Harriet Beecher (2006-01-13). Uncle Tom's Cabin (p. 501). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.
[as in her day, the courts are still critical protectorate of the rights of the disenfranchised. witness even today the overturning of several states' voter restriction laws (texas and wisconsin) and the great outcry of relief felt by those who were subjected to potential loss of the fundamental right to participate in our government.]
stowe challenged the principles of those who did hear of the brutality but chose to deny that brutality by turning a blind eye as well as refusing to hear the truth.
Facts too shocking to be contemplated force their way to the public ear, and the comment that one often hears made on them is more shocking than the thing itself. It is said, "Very likely such cases may now and then occur, but they are no sample of general practice." If the laws of New England were so arranged that a master could now and then torture an apprentice to death, would it be received with equal composure? Would it be said, "These cases are rare, and no samples of general practice"? This injustice is an inherent one in the slave system,--it cannot exist without it.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher (2006-01-13). Uncle Tom's Cabin (p. 501). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition. .
"society" often chooses to ignore injustices toward those least able to protect or defend themselves when they, as individuals, are not affected. money was the motivating factor as men, women and children were not only sold to labor in the fields, to be servants in the households of those who could afford to purchase them, the slave who was owned by a good master might, upon the death of that master, be torn from family and sold to any person with the money to buy.
the lives of slaves were also impacted by those in northern states by paper transactions instead of human ones sanitized the practice of slavery for those who held it in distaste. notes were to be settled, estates were to be closed, value received for "property" by the northerners who scorned the physical "owning" of slaves, yet often thought nothing of the "property" listed on the paper they processed. until the 1850 fugitive slave act was passed to force all americans to aid in the recovery of runaway slaves, this was a system thrice removed from many in the north: distance, practice and human. however, in 1850, congress passed this act to appease the slave holding states while admitting california as a free state and making washington, d.c. a free territory. fines of $1000 and six months in jail for those who "aided and abetted" an escaped slave were written into the act. when passed, this legislation was an attempt to prevent the south from seceding from the union and was designed to be compromise between abolitionist and slave-holding states. it was this act that polarized those on both sides of the issue.
those who were removed prior to this law were now faced with a moral decision. the fugitive slave act was one of the key motivations for harriet beecher stowe in writing uncle tom's cabin.
how did this justification for hatred, for brutality, for discrimination exist in the 1800s? how does it still exist now? how did good people turn away from seeing the horror and despair endured in the name of profits? and how will we conquer the divisions still so apparent in our current days of hatred and racism?
as stowe, herself, stated in her final chapter of the book,
[she]…avoided all reading upon or allusion to the subject of slavery, considering it as too painful to be inquired into, and one which advancing light and civilization would certainly live down. But, since the legislative act of 1850, when she heard, with perfect surprise and consternation, Christian and humane people actually recommending the remanding escaped fugitives into slavery, as a duty binding on good citizens,--when she heard, on all hands, from kind, compassionate and estimable people, in the free states of the North, deliberations and discussions as to what Christian duty could be on this head,--she could only think, These men and Christians cannot know what slavery is; if they did, such a question could never be open for discussion. And from this arose a desire to exhibit it in a living dramatic reality. She has endeavored to show it fairly, in its best and its worst phases. In its best aspect, she has, perhaps, been successful; but, oh! who shall say what yet remains untold in that valley and shadow of death, that lies the other side?
S, Harriet Beecher (2006-01-13). Uncle Tom's Cabin (p. 503). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.
stowe's deep abiding faith also inspired her to write uncle tom's cabin. her book then inspired a nation. today, we write - we blog - we speak out, we march and wait to strike a larger tone with a larger audience. are we different than our predecessor who wrote this novel? our words are heard and seen by many - it is how we choose to use those words that matter, just as how harriet beecher stowe used the power of her pen.
today, in the greater sense of obligation to combat prejudice, to care for those most vulnerable in our nation, good people are oft drowned out by the siren call and the allure of money. today, organized religion promises reward on earth in terms of the very "gold" that was the driving factor in the slave trade as then the church stood silently by or preached that the african slave was not human and had no soul.
stowe asks her readers the following question that is as applicable today as in 1852…
Have you not, in your own secret souls, in your own private conversings, felt that there are woes evils, in this accursed system, far beyond what are here shadowed, or can be shadowed? Can it be otherwise? Is man ever a creature to be trusted with wholly irresponsible power?
Stowe, Harriet Beecher (2006-01-13). Uncle Tom's Cabin (p. 504). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.
as we look at the poor, the sick, the homeless in america today, is theirs no different a master than the one who held the whip in 1852? if we don't stand against oppression, are we any less responsible than those who stood silently by in 1852? how did stowe inspire a nation? she appealed to the women of that nation to stand and speak out. she chastised the men for not hearing the words of women. she implored women to teach their children the value of love and to heed the horror of having a child torn away from its mother's breast to be sold. harriet beecher stowe recruited women to stand against slavery by challenging their sons and husbands and fathers in this horrific human trade.
And you, mothers of America,--you who have learned, by the cradles of your own children, to love and feel for all mankind,--by the sacred love you bear your child; by your joy in his beautiful, spotless infancy; by the motherly pity and tenderness with which you guide his growing years; by the anxieties of his education; by the prayers you breathe for his soul's eternal good;--I beseech you, pity the mother who has all your affections, and not one legal right to protect, guide, or educate, the child of her bosom! By the sick hour of your child; by those dying eyes, which you can never forget; by those last cries, that wrung your heart when you could neither help nor save; by the desolation of that empty cradle, that silent nursery,--I beseech you, pity those mothers that are constantly childless by the American slave-trade! And say, mothers of America, is this a thing to be defended, sympathized with, passed over in silence?
Stowe, Harriet Beecher (2006-01-13). Uncle Tom's Cabin (p. 505). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.
the abolitionists who took great risk to follow their passionately held belief in equality are no different that those today who fight for the rights of the suppressed. they are our neighbors, our family, our friends and they are us. as in 1852, until today's shadow of greed that darkens the hopes of the vulnerable is cast off our society, until the abuse in society is stopped, until those who value money over human dignity and spirit are denied power to control the lives of others, harriet beecher stowe's work will not be done. nor will our work be done.
read her words. this IS the woman who started the great war. and now, the mantle falls to us to continue her battle for justice and compassion and humanity for all!
write on, my friends. write on!