Uncle Tom\'s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

¶ … Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe and "Sociology of the South," and "Cannibals All" by Charles Fitzhugh. Specifically it will contrast and compare the two authors' feelings, beliefs, and attitudes regarding the role of the master in the society of slavery. Is the master a fatherly figure or only there to keep the slaves in line? It will also look at the role of the overseer. Were overseers "fatherly" as owners were or were they more brutal and cruel to slaves? These three very different works take two very diverse looks at slavery, one through the eyes of a slave-owner committed to the practice, and one through the eyes of an abolitionist, and they come to quite differing conclusions. Ultimately, history shows, from many other slave narratives and accounts, that the cruelty endured by most slaves was monumental, and their masters were sometimes cruel and inhuman. These two authors are at odds with each other, but they both have their reasons for writing, and something can be learned from both.

In "Uncle Tom's Cabin," author Stowe portrays some slave owners as kind and understanding. The Shelby's are this kind of family, and if they had not lived in the South, they may not have even owned slaves. They try to regard them as people, and trust men like Tom with vital parts of their lives, and they are strong enough not to sell him to an unscrupulous dealer like Hadley, whose only real purpose is to make money from the slaves, he treats them like so much horseflesh -- valuable, but without feelings or needs. However, far more common were overseers like Simon Legree, who came to stand for evil and cruelty in American culture. At one point, he barters Tom's clothing and leaves him only one set of clothes for a year. Stowe writes,

But Simon Legree heard no voice. [ ... ] He only glared for a moment on the downcast face of Tom, and walked off. He took Tom's trunk, which contained a very neat and abundant wardrobe, to the forecastle, where it was soon surrounded by various hands of the boat. With much laughing, at the expense of niggers who tried to be gentlemen, the articles very readily were sold to one and another, and the empty trunk finally put up at auction (Stowe 371).

This is only one of many examples of cruelty and inhumane treatment in the book, yet author Fitzhugh, himself a slave-owner, does not agree that masters and overseers can be cruel and inhumane. In fact, he likens the master/slave relationship to that of a "priest and layman." He notes, "The reciprocal duties and obligations of master and slave, of lord and vassal, of priest and layman, to each other, were altogether unlike those that should be practiced between the free and equal citizens of regenerated society" MACROBUTTON HtmlResAnchor ("Sociology" 48)

. He feels the slaves have a "reciprocal duty" to their masters, even though they have no rights, no part of the profits, and no freedoms.

Stowe's scenes of beatings are not atypical, they appear in many slave narratives and accounts, and they are all too common. Clearly, masters could be kind and understanding, such as the Shelby's and Sinclair, and so could overseers. Some actually respected their workers, and knew their own financial well being depended on the health and attitude of their slaves. However, many more were like Fitzhugh, who saw the Negroes as little more than animals, and that they should be happy for any scrap of food and a roof over their head, no matter how awful it was.

Everyone is indeed impacted by slavery; in fact, the entire country was impacted, because eventually, differences between North and South, including slavery, evolved into the Civil War. Masters are certainly impacted, because they have to provide for their slaves, but they are the least impacted, for they are in a position of power and freedom, while the slaves are not. Stowe believes it is the only humane thing to do to set the slaves free, and she feels that Northerners should open their hearts and minds to them. She also feels they should be educated, and with educations, they can live normal lives, just like the rest of American citizens. However, she does not take into account that even the most liberal abolitionist often harbored prejudice, and the freed blacks were rarely welcomed with open arms because of their race. Fitzhugh, on the other hand, feels that the slaves should be happy with their lot, and freedom would only take away the freedoms they already enjoy. He states, "The negro slaves of the South are the happiest, and, in some sense, the freest people in the world. The children and the aged and infirm work not at all, and yet have all the comforts and necessaries of life provided for them" ("Cannibals" 113). Stowe disputes this view when one of her characters cries, "Tell me that any man living wants to work all his days, from day-dawn till dark, under the constant eye of a master, without the power of putting forth one irresponsible volition, on the same dreary, monotonous, unchanging toil!" (Stowe 252). Her attitude is not only realistic, it seems a much more balanced view of slavery and the inequality of the entire system.