UNCLE TOM'S CABIN @ 92YTribeca

The lecture on Harriet Beecher Stowe's UNCLE TOM's CABIN (UTC) "the most influential novel ever written by an American," was given by Prof. David Reynolds of Engliah & Americ. studies @ CUNY.  Prof. Reynolds won the Bancroft Prize for his novel, WALT WHITMAN'S AMERICA.  The power of words do prove to be mightier than the sword.  Mrs. Stowe's claim's that she is not the author, "G-d wrote the Book."  Born into a family of ministers & abolistionists, Stowe believed her work was divine inspiration.  She lived in OH where many runaway slaves fled. Her family helped in the underground railroad.  UTC was published in 1852, 9 years before the Civil War, 11 years before Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Stowe had a meeting with Lincoln in Nov. '82 at the White House where she advocated the abolishment of slavery.  UTC when published,  sold over 300,000 copies in the U.S. while banned in the south,  over 2,000,000 copies world wide and is translated into 80 languages.  Stowe's neighbor in OH was tried for harboring runaway slaves under the Fugitive Slave Act and found guilty by the Supreme Court which ruled a slave is not considered a man.  The 13th Amendment was only added in 1885, reminding me of signs worn during the Civil Rights Era "I AM A MAN," in the 1960's.