Now that Uncle Tom's Cabin has been published on a mass scale and people have a better picture of what the book is about, why today is being called an "Uncle Tom" a bad thing? I read the book this summer, and, to be honest, he seems to be a hero who stands for what he believes, no matter the cost.

I think it became a bad thing because of Uncle Tom's submissiveness, preferring prayer and ultimately dying, rather than fighting back.

So basically the book started a war?

It was not the sole cause of the civil war, but yes it did contribute to the start of the war.

Can Karl Marx's Manifesto of the Communist Party be counted as a document that started WWII?

The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848 and had more to do with the Russian Revolution in 1917 and the start of the Soviet Union than it did with World War II. The Nazi Party in Germany destroyed both democracy and communism in Germany as it rose to power. It could be argued that the Nazi's would not have had the successes they had without communists in Germany to fight against, but the racism, nationalism, and fascism that fueled German expansion and led to World War II were not part of the Manifesto.

I don't really understand how the book is relevant to starting a war.

The book was a piece of emotional manipulation, stirring many people to oppose white racism in the south (though they still practiced it in the north) and support efforts to end slavery in the south.

what was a few of the books main reasons that started the war

One reason that the book started a war was that it showed the horrors of slavery in the South and some southern land owners used slaves. So this could have agitated the South

What was the significance of Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, as you probably know. It was a revolutionary book because so many people in the North read it, and it portrayed the reality of slavery. The book probably also made more people increasingly aware of the wrongs of slavery and drew attention to the abolitionists.

How does Uncle Tom’s Cabin help start the Civil War?

Uncle Tom's Cabin did not "help start the civil war." It merely turned certain conditions that characterized the slaveholding part of the United States into a popular story which moved some people to emotional and intellectual responses. In that, it was like good literature of all times and places.

You don'the mention that Lincoln was a Republican and frame this as as "sectional issue" rather than a conservative vs liberal issue. It seems you are protecting Democrats from their unfavorable history. Why?

I think it is more of a sectional issue than a conservative vs. liberal issue. Let me tell you why: Modern day liberalism emerged in the 1930s and the modern day conservative movement traces its history back to about 1960, so those concepts aren't relevant to the Civil War. Moreover, the idea of a Republican conservative party vs. a Democratic liberal party is also an invention of the 1960s. Before then, both the Republican party and the Democratic party had liberal and conservative wings. (Note that in the 1950s Southern Democrats were in favor of Jim Crow and states' rights for example, while Northern Democrats by and large favored civil rights and New Deal legislation). So in the election of 1860, for example, the Democratic party split into two camps, the Northern Democrats, who supported Stephen Douglas and favored keeping the union together, and the Southern Democrats, who supported John C. Breckenridge and favored seceding to protect the institution of slavery. So it was section, more than party, that determined one's stance in the 1850s, and one of the most important takeaways from Uncle Tom's Cabin and the 1850s is that sectionalism rather than political party began to dominate politics, leading to the split between North and South in the Civil War. Although these videos don't yet have a home on the Khan Academy website, I also encourage you to check out the recent histories of the Democratic and Republican parties that we uploaded onto our YouTube channel in honor of the political conventions, where we go into a lot more detail.

Main content

AP®︎/College US History

Course: AP®︎/College US History > Unit 5

Lesson 4: Sectional conflict: regional differences

Uncle Tom's Cabin - reception and significance

Name: Uncle Tom's Cabin - reception and significance
Uploaded: 2016-07-07T00:11:34Z
Description: How did Northerners, Southerners, and the international community receive Harriet Beecher Stowe's abolitionist novel? Kim and Becca discuss the reception and far-reaching consequences of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.

AP.USH:

KC‑5.2.I.B (KC)

SOC (Theme)

Unit 5: Learning Objective F

Google Classroom

How did Northerners, Southerners, and the international community receive Harriet Beecher Stowe's abolitionist novel? Kim and Becca discuss the reception and far-reaching consequences of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Want to join the conversation?

Sort by:

J.A.R.V.I.S.
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to J.A.R.V.I.S.'s post “Now that Uncle Tom's Cabi...”
Now that Uncle Tom's Cabin has been published on a mass scale and people have a better picture of what the book is about, why today is being called an "Uncle Tom" a bad thing? I read the book this summer, and, to be honest, he seems to be a hero who stands for what he believes, no matter the cost.
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(21 votes)
Answer
- Harriet Buchanan
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Harriet Buchanan's post “I think it became a bad t...”
  I think it became a bad thing because of Uncle Tom's submissiveness, preferring prayer and ultimately dying, rather than fighting back.
  Comment on Harriet Buchanan's post “I think it became a bad t...”
  (13 votes)
petesny38
Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to petesny38's post “You don'the mention that ...”
You don'the mention that Lincoln was a Republican and frame this as as "sectional issue" rather than a conservative vs liberal issue. It seems you are protecting Democrats from their unfavorable history. Why?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on petesny38's post “You don'the mention that ...”
(1 vote)
Answer
- Kim Kutz Elliott
  Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to Kim Kutz Elliott's post “I think it is more of a s...”
  I think it is more of a sectional issue than a conservative vs. liberal issue. Let me tell you why: Modern day liberalism emerged in the 1930s and the modern day conservative movement traces its history back to about 1960, so those concepts aren't relevant to the Civil War. Moreover, the idea of a Republican conservative party vs. a Democratic liberal party is also an invention of the 1960s. Before then, both the Republican party and the Democratic party had liberal and conservative wings. (Note that in the 1950s Southern Democrats were in favor of Jim Crow and states' rights for example, while Northern Democrats by and large favored civil rights and New Deal legislation). So in the election of 1860, for example, the Democratic party split into two camps, the Northern Democrats, who supported Stephen Douglas and favored keeping the union together, and the Southern Democrats, who supported John C. Breckenridge and favored seceding to protect the institution of slavery. So it was section, more than party, that determined one's stance in the 1850s, and one of the most important takeaways from Uncle Tom's Cabin and the 1850s is that sectionalism rather than political party began to dominate politics, leading to the split between North and South in the Civil War.
  
  Although these videos don't yet have a home on the Khan Academy website, I also encourage you to check out the recent histories of the Democratic and Republican parties that we uploaded onto our YouTube channel in honor of the political conventions, where we go into a lot more detail.
  Comment on Kim Kutz Elliott's post “I think it is more of a s...”
  (34 votes)
Xeno Testy
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Xeno Testy's post “So basically the book sta...”
So basically the book started a war?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Xeno Testy's post “So basically the book sta...”
(6 votes)
Answer
- Bradley Reynolds
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Bradley Reynolds's post “It was not the sole cause...”
  It was not the sole cause of the civil war, but yes it did contribute to the start of the war.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (9 votes)
Joe Blow
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to Joe Blow's post “Can Karl Marx's Manifesto...”
Can Karl Marx's Manifesto of the Communist Party be counted as a document that started WWII?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Joe Blow's post “Can Karl Marx's Manifesto...”
(5 votes)
Answer
- briancsherman
  Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to briancsherman's post “The Communist Manifesto w...”
  The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848 and had more to do with the Russian Revolution in 1917 and the start of the Soviet Union than it did with World War II. The Nazi Party in Germany destroyed both democracy and communism in Germany as it rose to power. It could be argued that the Nazi's would not have had the successes they had without communists in Germany to fight against, but the racism, nationalism, and fascism that fueled German expansion and led to World War II were not part of the Manifesto.
  Comment on briancsherman's post “The Communist Manifesto w...”
  (7 votes)
s110657
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to s110657's post “I don't really understand...”
I don't really understand how the book is relevant to starting a war.
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(3 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “The book was a piece of e...”
  The book was a piece of emotional manipulation, stirring many people to oppose white racism in the south (though they still practiced it in the north) and support efforts to end slavery in the south.
  Comment on David Alexander's post “The book was a piece of e...”
  (8 votes)
johnmiali4
Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to johnmiali4's post “What was the significance...”
What was the significance of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(2 votes)
Answer
- edgewaterah
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to edgewaterah's post “Uncle Tom's Cabin was a b...”
  Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, as you probably know. It was a revolutionary book because so many people in the North read it, and it portrayed the reality of slavery. The book probably also made more people increasingly aware of the wrongs of slavery and drew attention to the abolitionists.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (6 votes)
Lucas Thompson
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Lucas Thompson's post “what was a few of the boo...”
what was a few of the books main reasons that started the war
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(3 votes)
Answer
- Xeno Testy
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Xeno Testy's post “One reason that the book ...”
  One reason that the book started a war was that it showed the horrors of slavery in the South and some southern land owners used slaves. So this could have agitated the South
  Button navigates to signup page
  (3 votes)
justin shao
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to justin shao's post “How did Northerners, Sout...”
How did Northerners, Southerners, and the international community receive Harriet Beecher Stowe's abolitionist novel?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(2 votes)
Answer
- Michael Fulcher
  Posted 5 years ago. Direct link to Michael Fulcher's post “It was probably an eye op...”
  It was probably an eye opener to the north and it angered the south. The international community were mostly against slavery so they probably agreed with the book.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
Elveda clark
Posted a year ago. Direct link to Elveda clark's post “How does Uncle Tom’s Cabi...”
How does Uncle Tom’s Cabin help start the Civil War?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(2 votes)
Answer
- David Alexander
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to David Alexander's post “Uncle Tom's Cabin did not...”
  Uncle Tom's Cabin did not "help start the civil war." It merely turned certain conditions that characterized the slaveholding part of the United States into a popular story which moved some people to emotional and intellectual responses. In that, it was like good literature of all times and places.
  Button navigates to signup page
  (2 votes)
Sarini/nunu
Posted 14 days ago. Direct link to Sarini/nunu's post “would we have the same ru...”
would we have the same rules we have today if there was no slaves?
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(2 votes)
Answer

Video transcript

- [Voiceover] Hey Kim. - [Kim] Hey, Becca. So, we've been talking about Uncle Tom's Cabin, published in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and said to have been one of the main causes of the American Civil War. So, remind me again of what Uncle Tom's Cabin was actually about. - [Becca] So Uncle Tom's Cabin was about the horrors of slavery in the deep south and also appealed to a lot of American's Christian values and tried to point out these fundamental contradictions between Christian faith and slavery. - [Kim] So, it was published in 1852. How did people receive this book? - [Becca] So there was a lot of mixed reactions. But, it was the most read book of the 19th century, so there were a lot of reactions. (laughing) In the north, mostly, people were reading this all the time, no matter if you were an intellectual or just kind of a 17 year old picking up a book off a shelf, you were going to read Uncle Tom's Cabin. And a lot of the people that actually read the book were young men that would later fight in the Civil War. - [Kim] How interesting. Okay, so, like this would be our book club book of the month except everybody was, this was like the Oprah's book club choice of 1852. - [Becca] Exactly. - [Kim] Everybody was reading it. - [Becca] Yeah, there's really almost nothing like it. Not even Harry Potter. But it did have the same international scope that Harry Potter does today. - [Kim] So, it was popular in the northern United States, and elsewhere in the world. So, where else was it popular? - [Becca] Mostly in Europe. But it was translated into over 60 languages. - [Kim] Wow. - [Becca] And, this also kind of put the spotlight on American slavery. So, there was all this international attention. What is going on in America, and what's going to happen? - [Kim] That's so interesting. It reminds me of The King and I. If you've seen that she, the woman goes to Siam, and shows people the book Uncle Tom's Cabin and they put on a version of a play based on Uncle Tom's Cabin in what would be Thailand. - [Becca] So yeah, so this makes it this kind of international spectacle. The fate of slavery had to be somehow figured out, and everyone was watching. - [Kim] That's so interesting. So, I'm imagining that white southerners were not big fans of this book. - [Becca] So, white southerners were definitely not a fan of Uncle Tom's Cabin. And in response, there was this movement of these things called anti-Tom novels. Here's an anti-Tom novel right next to us, right over here, Aunt Phillis's Cabin. (Kim laughing) - [Kim] Creative name. - [Becca] Aunt Phillis' Cabin, yes (laughing), very creative name. These anti-Tom novels aimed to point out that maybe Harriet Beecher Stowe didn't know what she was actually talking about. They also accused Harriet Beecher Stowe of not actually even living in the deep south, so she didn't even know what slavery was like. They wanted to paint southern slave society in this really positive light. They wanted to show all the ways that it actually maintains social order, and promoted economic welfare, so this was kind of this response from the south, also in novel form. - [Kim] So, it's this big kind of cultural battle over the interpretation of slavery. You have people on one hand saying slavery is destructive to families, slavery is incompatible with Christianity. And then, responses from the white south, saying, oh no, actually slavery is great, it helps everybody. - [Becca] Right, so there was this kind of battle within the literary community about the peculiar institution of slavery. Which one was it? - [Kim] So what if, I'm illiterate, right. I mean, not everybody in 19th century America was a New England intellectual who was reading Christian novels. How would I have heard about Uncle Tom's Cabin? - [Becca] That's a really good point, Kim. So, Tom Shows were depictions of Uncle Tom's Cabin in theaters around the world. And so, they were often times put on by abolitionist people trying to point out the issues with slavery today and end slavery immediately. - [Kim] So, this is before there's copyright law, right, so you can just put on a show of anybody's novel if you feel like it. - [Becca] Exactly, but often times, they really misconstrued the novel. And actually, now are remembered as contributing to the problem of racism in America. - [Kim] Racial stereotypes, too, I would imagine, because we still have this phrase Uncle Tom kind of to mean an African-American who is a martyr to the status quo as opposed to someone who might fight against racism. It seems like they might have borrowed a lot of these stereotypes from minstrel shows which were also very popular in this time period. - [Becca] And some of the characters within these minstrel shows turned into the character that was remembered as Jim Crow, which became the dominating racial order after the Civil War. So, in the Civil Rights era in the mid-1950's, lots of activists actually wanted to completely reject the progress that Uncle Tom's Cabin and these Tom Shows had made because they actually reduced African Americans to this terrible stereotype. And so, later on, this kind of idea that someone was an Uncle Tom became a racial slur, really, and they then rejected Uncle Tom's Cabin as being a tool towards racial equality and more saw it as a part of the problem. - [Kim] So, I think, the most important thing about Uncle Tom's Cabin is that it's this catalyst of really intense emotions about slavery which in the 1850's will lead eventually to the Civil War. And, following the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, you'll see more and more violence on both sides of this issue. For example, John Brown, this famous abolitionist actually goes out to Kansas and murders people. - [Becca] And I think that Lincoln was very astute in pointing out that Uncle Tom's Cabin really catalyzed a lot of this violence. And he even met with Harriet Beecher Stowe, so she earned herself a little meeting with Abraham Lincoln. (Kim laughing) - [Kim] And he said, "So you're the little lady that started this great war." I'm trying to think of another book that has started a war. - [Becca] I think we would probably remember that. But I do think Lincoln was really astute in pointing out just how impactful this cultural phenomenon, this Tom-mania was on the question of slavery and on the fate of the American people. And really, it just begged the question in a new way, in this kind of public setting. I mean, I just think that the book itself, the way that the book could just travel all around the United States and so many different kinds of people were able to read it and get their hands on it. This really was just this movement of people just thinking a lot about slavery, reading a lot about slavery. - [Kim] Yeah, well, I think after Uncle Tom's Cabin, I don't think there was a way to not have an opinion on the slavery issue. Either you were for it, or you were against it. And that divisiveness would lead to the Civil War. - [Becca] And again, there's this international focus. There's a deeper, sectional divide between the north and the south, and there was this kind of sorting over the slavery question that Uncle Tom's Cabin really promoted.