The Peculiar Institution

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a text which has had an enormous impact on nineteenth century America and the world. It was one of the first texts to have more readers than the bible and was translated internationally. Although much can be said to the service that Uncle Tom’s Cabin has given to the abolitionist movement and the abolishment of slavery, the novel still has its faults. Of the faults sited within the text some include the stereotypical portrayal of various slaves, which borders on racism, and a slight approval of colonization. While these flaws are few compared to the institution which the novel was written against, they are more of a reflection on the views of the author than of the reality which the author portrays. A more thorough glimpse into Stowe’s intentions and beliefs regarding the novel and the ‘peculiar’ institution of slavery can help advance the modern readers’ interpretation of Stowe’s work. As with many whites of her time Stowe, “shared many of the misconceptions about race common in her lifetime” this is not surprising considering “the absence of the kind of scientific data available today” which made it virtually impossible to avoid accepting at least some of the reigning ideologies involving ethnology and the racist common knowledge assumptions concerning race during the nineteenth century (Graham 614). Although Stowe tried to avoid notions of white superiority in her writings there are instances in which these notions do appear. Examples of this can be seen in Uncle Tom’s Cabin when she describes whites as, “cold, brave, industrious, and spirited” while blacks are described as, “timid, unenterprising, droll, and weak” (Graham 617).