The book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” has often been labeled as the kindling wood of the Civil War. Written in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe, who was the child of a protestant preacher, it was originally penned as a set of articles for the Washington anti-slavery weekly, “The National Era.”

The mother of seven children and a teacher, Stowe wrote to support her family. This included poetry, travel guides, biographies, children’s books, and adult novels. Yet, her name is forever etched in the annals of those who spoke against slavery during the pre-Civil War period.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin piqued public interest in the subject of slavery, but it was also based on Stowe’s life experiences growing up next to the slave state of Kentucky. She had firsthand knowledge about slavery, the anti-slavery movement, and the underground railroad, a network to help slaves escape to the north. In her memoirs, she credits the life of the Rev. Josiah Henson, whose work on the Underground Railroad inspired her writings. Henson, born in Maryland and enslaved for 41 years, escaped to Canada in 1830.

The book aroused intense controversy and made Stowe a national celebrity. To help dispel the attacks on her........

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