Introduction: Harriet Beecher Stowe's book, Uncle Tom's Cabin was an amazing and truly inspiring read. It was obvious to me, and to others too, that the book had been written with a specific purpose. This goal was to inform the American public of the horrors of slavery. The novel takes place at the beginning of the 19th century. During this period, slaves made up approximately 13% of the American population and mostly worked on large plantations. Since very few people owned plantations or owned slaves for their personal use, most of the American public did not have much understanding of the hardships the average slave had to go through. Through her writings, Harriet Stowe managed to perfectly illustrate what the American people had not been able to see. Stowe's novel inspired people to push for an end to slavery in a way that debates and speeches could not have. The novel's response was so incredible that many considered it to have caused or at least influenced the American Civil War. This novel shows that the power of literature can be used as a weapon. It's up to the author to decide whether they want to use this power for better or worse. Harriet Stowe decided to use her power for good by trying to convince people to join the abolitionist movement. This can be demonstrated through Tom's characteristics, his religion, the response the novel received from the north and south and through the (usually one-sided) historical facts shown through Stowes' writing. First body paragraph: Harriet Stowe was able to inspire people to make a change because of the characteristics she gave to Tom. These characteristics helped the general public feel more empathy for the characters, which gave them a large...... middle of paper ...... l war, its circulation decreased enormously. It was not until the human rights movement of the late 1960s that the book became widely read again. The impact of the novel was so great on Americans North and South that it is firmly believed that Harriet Stowe was able to influence the start of the American Civil War through her writings. The power of literature can be so strong that it can be used as a weapon. By portraying slaves as people with whom the reader (the general public) could both identify and sympathize, it had a greater effect than even Stowe could have imagined. Basically, she educated the public who previously had a very limited and narrow view of what a slave actually was. In conclusion, it is evident that Harriet Stowe was successful in convincing the American public to push for change and unite to end slavery once and for all..