Profile of the Day: Harriet Beecher Stowe

Remember reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin? On this day in 1811, abolitionist and author Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Harriet Beecher Stowe / U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Stowe was the seventh of thirteen children born to Lyman Beecher, a Calvinist preacher, and Roxana Foote, who died when Stowe as just five years old. Her great grandfather, Andrew Ward V, was a general in the American Revolutionary War.

Growing up, Stowe received a classical education that was traditionally reserved for men. She took up a strong interest in writing and published numerous books throughout her life. However, she is perhaps best remembered for her anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which detailed the harsh realities of life under slavery. Her book had a significant emotional impact on the public and is often credited with helping to change public opinion on slavery. Uncle Tom’s Cabin not only fueled the abolitionist movement in the North, but also provoked anger in the South. After the start of the American Civil War, Stowe met President Abraham Lincoln at the White House. He reportedly greeted her by saying, “so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war?”

How are you related to Harriet Beecher Stowe? Explore her family tree and discover your connection!