Tom

Uncle Tom is actually a fictional character representing a black slave during the cival war era. The novel was published on March 20, 1852. It was written as a response to the second fugitive slave act which stated that slaves that escaped to the north must be returned to their owners in the south. The novel is written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, who actually lived in the north and never owned slaves herself. The novel was inspired by a true person, Johiah Henson, a black slave, who escaped to Canada. He had worked on a 3,700 acre tobaco plantation in the south prior to escaping. Johian wrote his own book, about his life as a slave, and helped other slaves settle into Canada after they escaped.



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