Jun 14 2009
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abolitionist Author
Harriet Beecher Stowe was born on June 14, 1811 in Litchfield, Connecticut; she was one of eleven children born to her preacher father and his wife. Her mother died when she was five-years-old. Her father frequently gave sermons condemning slavery. She attended the Hartford Female Seminary which was run by her sister, later becoming a teacher at that same school. In 1832, the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1836, Harriet married widower Calvin E. Stowe; they had seven children, only three out lived their parents.
Her first published work was the novel The Mayflower, or, Sketches of scenes and characters among the descendants of the Pilgrims in 1834. She published the book she is most known for, Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852; it started out being serialized in a literary journal. It was a novel that was very critical of slavery. Her novel, Dred, was also an anti-slavery novel which was published in 1856. Stowe wrote poetry, travel memoirs, childrens books and novels. In addition, she wrote a reader’s key to understanding Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She also started an anti-slavery weekly journal called National Era and in 1862 she met President Abraham Lincoln. Her last published work was Poor Life in 1890.
Harriet Beecher Stowe died on July 1, 1896.
