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The Birth of Harriet
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut to the Rev. Lyman Beecher and Roxanna Foote Beecher. Harriet is the sixth child out of eleven. -
Early teaching
Harriet first became a student and then a teacher at Hartford Female Seminary. This school for females was founded by her sister, Catherine. At Hartford Female Seminary, Stowe furthered her writing talents and composed many essays. -
Her First Book
Primary Geography for Children on an Improved Plan was her first book. Though she had done all of the writing, she shared credit with her sister Catharine. After the book was published, Harriet wrote Georgiana May, telling her of Bishop John B. Purcell's visit to the school, his praise of "my poor little geography," and his thanks for "the unprejudiced manner in which I handled the Catholic question in it. -
After Marriage
Harriet stopped schoolteaching when she married her husband, Calvin Stowe, who was a professor at the seminary. She began writing stories as an escape from the drudgery of raising seven kids and to help pay for her children. -
Harriet's son dies
In the summer of 1849, Harriet's eighteen-month-old son passed away. Her son, Samuel Charles Stowe, died of cholera, a bacterial disease. She credited the death of her child to one of the inspirations of writing Uncle Tom's Cabin. The experience helped her understand a mother's pain when their child has been ripped away from them because of slavery. -
The Compromise of 1850 and Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Fugitive Slave Act was part of the Compromise of 1850. This law required people in the North to capture runaway slaves and return them to the South, but Northerners hated this law. This law was passed as Stowe moved to Brunswick, Maine. Stowe especially hated this law and went against it. This law was one of many reasons she started to write Uncle Tom's Cabin. -
Harriet's Vision
At a communion at First Paris Church in Brunswick, Stowe had a vision of an old slave, who was a Christan man. In this vision, the man was being flogged to death yet praying for forgiveness for his torturers. This vision later became the final scene in her book Uncle Tom's Cabin. When she read this to her children, they wept. -
First Steps of Uncle Tom's Cabin
The National Era publisher Gamaliel Baley contracted with Harriet for a story that "painted a word picture of slavery". This story she wrote would be published in the abolitionist newspaper. She only intended to write 3 to 4 chapters to Uncle Tom's Cabin. She wrote more than 40 chapters. -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
What she wrote was published as a two-volume book. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a runaway best-seller. The book sold 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week; 300,000 in the first year; and in Great Britain, 1.5 million copies in one year. In the 19th century, the only book to outsell Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the Bible. -
Stowe in Great Britain
Stowe was invited to Great Britan by anti-slavery groups. When she arrived, she was rushed by excited crowds. During her five-month stay, she traveled the country and attended numerous anti-slavery rallies. She was presented with the Stafford House Address, a 26-volume leather bound petition signed by more than 563,000 British women asking their American sisters to work to abolish slavery. -
Writing "The Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Stowe responded to critics by composing The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an annotated bibliography of the sources she used. Stowe pointed out people who inspired her characters and events in the book. She hoped that showing her sources would demonstrate that the book was based upon fact. -
Stowe and Lincoln
Harriet had the honor of meeting President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. When they met, he had mentioned the extraordinary influence from Uncle Tom's Cabin on the emancipation. Her book is considered to be one of the most influential books in American history. -
After her husband's death
After her husband's death, Stowe increasingly suffered from senility. She balanced her time between her home in Connecticut, where she liked to tend to her garden, and her home in Florida, where she had purchased an orange plantation. She occasionally wrote stories and wrote an autobiography. -
Harriet Dies
Harriet passed away at her home in Connecticut. She is said to have died from years long of "mental trouble" or natural causes. She left behind a legacy in her words and many people are still inspired by her today.
