Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe had a gift for words and the courage to use them. With vigor, she voiced what she believed was right when seeing wrongs in society.

Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1811, Harriet grew up in a family that believed in the importance of making a positive impact in the world. Raised with that mindset, well educated, Harriet found her way to contribute by writing books.

Throughout her life, she would write thirty books and numerous articles. But it was her most famous work, Uncle Tom's Cabin, that helped shift society. The story, written about slavery in the U.S. and the impact of enslavement on people, was published first in serial form in 1851 and then as a book in 1852. It had an initial print run of five thousand copies. Three hundred thousand copies were sold within a year, and about two million copies within five years.

Speaking of writing the book, Harriet, would say, “It is no merit in the sorrowful that they weep, or to the oppressed and smothering that they gasp and struggle, not to me, that I must speak for the oppressed — who cannot speak for themselves.”

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Sources: https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/june-05/ / https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org / Hedrick, Joan D. (1994). Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-506639-5. / National Archives and Records Administration / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Beecher_Stowe / Wikimhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Beecher_Stowe January 1853 - https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harriet_Beecher_Stowe