jan 1, 1852 - Uncle Tom's Cabin

Description:

A novel by American Abolitionist and writer Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896). The objective of the novel was to paint slavery as an inhumane and horrific practice thereby inspiring opposition to its persistence. The story quickly gained popularity particularly among white women in the North, jolting readers with it's graphically dramatized telling of a slave's strife. In response to pro-slavery critiques that Stowe's account of slavery was inaccurate and overstated, Stowe released Key To Uncle Toms Cabin in 1853, a dense catalog of real-life parallels to her characters and the storyline. Uncle Tom's Cabin, and it's sequel are credited catalysts to the Civil War.
http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/uncletom/key/kyhp.html

Use of "Uncle Tom" as a slur stemmed from theatre adaptations that reimagined his character as a sellout to adhere to misconceptions of black impropriety and corruptability.
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93059468

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