Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel was in unprecedented circulation for its time and described the despair and anguish that shrouded slavery throughout America. Using the example of a deceived and suffering enslaved person, the author showed the cowardice, hypocrisy, and lies of the entire system and its defenders in particular (Stowe, 2021). Contemporaries recognized that Stowe did a great job by publishing the novel. The novel provoked fierce criticism from the enslavers and their families; the author was repeatedly exposed. However, the book became a propaganda mouthpiece on the path to freedom from slavery, fundamentally influencing public sentiment. Even Abraham Lincoln admitted that Stowe was the key to starting the Civil War.
The Dred Scott Case of 1857
The Dred Scott case became a ‘black stain’ on American law, encouraging the spread of slavery even in states where it did not exist at that time. Even though Dred Scott died a free man, the judiciary never showed him a favor, having struggled for many years. Dred Scott was humiliated by judges and enslavers, and only the abolitionists helped him contain the pressure (Helg & Vergnaud, 2019). This case subsequently increased the wave of abolitionism, and Abraham Lincoln repeatedly referred to the story of Dred Scott in his debate with Stephen Douglas.
The Lincoln Douglas Debates, 1858
The Douglas-Lincoln debate underlined everything that had happened before it. Lincoln mentioned Dred Scott’s legal losses referred to other separate stories; in particular, both debaters said The Kansas-Nebraska Act (Kyte, 2022). These debates reflected the contradictions between the South and the North sharply, and Lincoln used the metaphor of a divided house. With its division and total contradictions, this home, America, tears itself apart from within and collapses. Stephen Douglas was a stern opponent of Lincoln, who already had popularity and political merit. The problem of slavery was raised to a new level of discussion, and the intensity became evident to everyone.
The Inevitability of the American Civil War
Society could have avoided a civil war in America, but the intensity of public discontent was too great. The community was ready for changes and wanted them, and the passionate people intercepted the agenda in time; they wrote literary works and filed lawsuits. However, it was hard for society to part with the idea of slavery. Single disturbances would not have led to a Civil War, but their combination and concentration made war inevitable.
References
Helg, A., & Vergnaud, L. (2019). Slave no more: Self-Liberation before abolitionism in the Americas. The University of North Carolina Press.
Kyte, L. (2022). Admitting a wrong: Apology for the historical injustice of the Dred Scott case. BYU Law Review, 47(1), 317-354.
Stowe, H. B. (2021). Uncle Tom’s cabin. Phoemixx Classics Ebooks.