Banned Book-Of-The-Day: Uncle Tom's Cabin

Reasons for Censorship: Racism

“Witness, eternal God! Oh, witness that, from this hour, I will do what one man can to drive out this curse of slavery from my land!”

Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is quite possibly just as controversial today as it was 162 years ago. The book is set during the peak of slavery in America, when tensions between the North and South were at their highest. The book follows Uncle Tom, a middle-aged Southern slave, as he is sold from his current plantation in the novel’s opening. From there, readers witness Tom’s hardships and suffering as a slave in the South, watching him as he is sold to an endless number of harsh, immoral slaveowners. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was one of the bestselling books in the nineteenth century, as it opened peoples’ eyes to the horrors of slavery.

Harriet Beecher Stowe was an abolitionist, as she firmly believed that any and all slaves in America should be freed. In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, a group of laws that forced white Northerners to aid in the capturing of runaway slaves, and enabled slave catchers to take any African American person, either a runaway slave or legally free, back to the South to be sold. Enraged, Stowe decided to write a literary representation of life as a slave, hoping that it would convince people of the evils of the slavery institution.

And convince it did.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin fanned the flames of the slavery disputes between the North and South. People began to see the horrific nature of slavery, causing more and more abolitionists to voice their opinions. The book was embraced in the North, Stowe’s characters becoming iconic. Contrastingly, the book was despised in the South, its title and author arousing anger and hostility in pro-slavery Southerners. In this way, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is considered to be a major cause of the American Civil War. In fact, when Stowe visited Washington D.C. during the Civil War, she had a meeting with President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln is credited with saying, “So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!"

So, let me get this straight. The novel that convinced thousands of people that slavery was evil, helped to spark the Civil War, and was endorsed by legendary abolitionist and president Abraham Lincoln is banned because of racism?

Yes, the book is a bit stereotypical. The stereotypes presented in the book are actually the topic of more interesting literary discussions about the novel itself, its author, and the era in which it was written. These stereotypes exist because the book was written during some of the most stereotypical years in American history. Any book that contains slavey or racial stereotypes is usually immediately challenged and/or banned. But people who challenged such novels don’t actually understand the point of the book. Uncle Tom’s Cabin contains racism because it speaks out against racism!

Any book that has contributed so heavily to the betterment and equality of the nation should not be banned. By supporting Banned Books Week, you are ensuring that Uncle Tom’s Cabin is never again hated the way it was in 1852.