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Line 1: − + − The book was very successful, selling 300,000 copies in the first year alone. Its popularity led it to be turned into theatrical performances and eventually silent films.<ref>[http://chnm.gmu.edu/lostmuseum/searchlm.php?function=find&exhibit=uncletom&browse=uncletom The Uncle Tom's Cabin Archive]</ref> Its popularity also helped add fuel to the fire of the building anti-slavery movement, which culminated in the [[American Civil War]] and the removal of slavery from [[America]], and as such is one of the most powerful books ever written.+ + − ==Influence==+ − The book (and play) was incredibly powerful and influential at the time of its writing -- to the point where President [[Abraham Lincoln]] described Harriet Beecher Stowe as "the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!" − − The book conveys an unflinching [[Christian]] message. Stowe, the daughter of a minister, wrote a novel that openly called on Americans to do their Christian duty and oppose [[slavery]]. The book contains powerful Christian characters (Tom and Eva) who manage to touch others through their faith and devotion. Tom is indeed a [[Christ]]-like figure who suffers and dies for us all. − − The phrase "Uncle Tom" has come to be used as a derogatory term for someone who is black, but chooses to act in a subservient manner towards powerful whites. This, however, is not an accurate depiction of the character in the novel. Uncle Tom is a tremendously strong individual, who refuses to strike back at his owners not because he is subservient to them but because he is subservient to God. At the climax of the book, he is beaten to death by Simon Legree. Tom doesn't fight back, but this is in no way an act of surrender; to the end, he refuses to betray the other slaves who have escaped. Although Legree attempts to destroy Tom's [[faith]], he fails. Tom forgives him and prays for him even when he is being beaten to death. Although Tom dies, he is the ultimate victor--not a broken and demoralized slave, but a triumphant servant of Christ. − − It is from the subsequent dramatizations of the novel that the derogatory connotations of "Uncle Tom" come. In these overly sentimental and spectacular reworkings of Stowe's book, Uncle Tom was transformed into a "stooped, obedient old fool," his strength and intelligence stripped away to fit the "image of a submissive black man preferred by post-Reconstruction, pre-civil rights America."<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/opinion/14Reynolds.html</ref> − − ==Theatrical Posters== − <gallery>Image:Uncle Tom.jpg|"Uncle Tom" − Image:Legree.jpg|"Legree" − Image:Eliza.jpg|"Eliza" − Image:Topsy.jpg|"Topsy"</gallery> + − ::http://www.iath.virginia.edu/utc/ +
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'''Uncle Tom's Cabin''' was a popular [[abolitionist]] novel written by [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]] in 1852. The main character is [[Uncle Tom]], a black [[slave]] who endures undeserved hardship with a quiet dignity and grace from [[God]].
'''Uncle Tom''' was a character in the anti-[[slavery]] [[novel]] ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'', written by [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]] in the mid 1800's. In the novel, Uncle Tom is a slave who, due to the debts of his owning family, is sold to a slave trader, and eventually to Simon Legree. After Uncle Tom refuses to whip another slave on the plantation, Legree resolves to crush his spirit and devotion to [[God]]. On the verge of giving up and renouncing his [[faith]], Tom has visions of [[Jesus]] and Eva, a white girl he befriended earlier in the novel, and remains true to his faith. After encouraging other slaves to escape, he is confronted by Legree who demands Tom tell him where they are. When Tom refuses again, he is beaten to death by Simon Legree.
==Modern Usage==
The name "Uncle Tom" Uncle Tom has become a pejorative term used by [[African American]]s to describe a black man who is "overly submissive'' to white people, betraying his black roots. Sometimes it is used to describe a black person who seeks favor or acceptance with white people by way of unnecessary accommodation.
This use has been criticized by others who point out that Uncle Tom was not submissive, but was beaten to death for refusing to submit. They also dislike the term as it suggests a black/white divide that implies interracial communication and friendship is improper.
==See Also==
==See Also==
* ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]''
* ''[[Aunt Phillis's Cabin]]''
* ''[[Aunt Phillis's Cabin]]''
==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>
==External Links==
==External Links==
* [http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/tom/ "The Tom Character"] from the museum of Racial Memorabilia
* [http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/tom/ "The Tom Character"] from the museum of Racial Memorabilia
* [http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/post_11.html Who's an Uncle Tom?] - Bruce Walker
* [http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/post_11.html Who's an Uncle Tom?] - Bruce Walker
[[Category:Literature]]
[[Category:Literature]]