Estephanie's Exploration Report

In one of my classes we decided to read, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, the play by George L. Aiken. This play was written based off the novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin". While reading this play, I was curious to find out where the author of the novel, Harriet Beecher Stowe, got her inspiration. 

The first source I discovered was an article from Smithsonian: (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/story-josiah-henson-real-inspiration-uncle-toms-cabin-180969094/). Brought to light a story that was very similar to Tom’s (the slave and protagonist of the story). This article discusses the life of Josiah Henson, who went through a lot of hardship through his life as a slave. His story was brought to the publics’ eye because of the abolitionist, Samuel Atkins Eliot and his interest in Josiah Henson’s story. He was so captivated by it, that he even wrote a book called, “Life of Josiah Henson: Formerly a Slave.” This book was published in 1849 and received attention from many abolitionists throughout the North. Harriet Beecher Stowe was impressed with his story and asked him to tell her his story in full details. 

Another source that I came across was from the website of Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, which is a Museum for and about Harriet Beecher Stowe. ( https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/harriet-beecher-stowe/uncle-toms-cabin/). It explains Harriet Beecher Stowe's history with slavery. She lived during those times and has memories of an African American woman being employed in her household. This made me think that her history could have inspired her to write "Uncle Tom's Cabin".