"Her banner in mockery waves..."

The mid nineteenth century proved fairly quickly that America would be no utopia for all. Inequality plagued the land. Some believed the racism and sexism to be ramifications of an inherently unequal Constitution, whereas others simply believed America was not living up to her true ideals. Regardless, certain human lives were considered as more important and valuable than others. I was shocked by Thomas Jefferson’s opinions in his “Notes on the State of Virginia,” in which he maintained that “the blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the whites in the endowments both of body and mind.” His words are based purely on his own presuppositions and have no validity, evidence, or heart. He suggests that African Americans feel less deeply than whites. “Never,” he says, “yet could I find that a black had uttered a thought above the level of plain narration.” After reading authors such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Jacobs, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and Frederick Douglass, I do not see how anyone could ever support that claim.

I have often heard of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” but have never read the novel. After reading these excerpts, I want to finish reading the rest of the novel. Stowe’s words are beautifully crafted with irony that manages to be heartfelt rather than brutish. Stowe challenges the notion of patriotism. She references the compassionate senator as “a sad case for his patriotism.” Yet one cannot help but see him as a much greater patriot than any enactor of the Fugitive Slave Law. He is a patriot for a higher group than just the Union—a patriot for humanity. Referring to a man who suggested that he did not support the Fugitive Slave Law, Stowe says, “So spoke this poor, heathenish Kentuckian, who had not been instructed in his constitutionalized relations, and consequently was betrayed into acting in a sort of Christianized manner, which, if he had been better situated and more enlightened, he would not have been left to do.” Stowe perfectly portrays in entertaining, narrative style the American double standard. This “Christian” nation is more responsible and more accountable than the most “pagan” of nations who do not boast the principles of enlightenment and liberty and justice. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper echoes a similar sentiment in her poem, “Eliza Harris:”

Oh! How shall I speak of my proud country’s shame?
Of the stains of her glory, how give them their name?
How say that her banner in mockery waves—
Her ‘star-spangled banner’—o’er millions of slaves?

Stowe captures humanity and the human spirit beautifully. I love the interchange between the senator’s wife and the runaway slave, Eliza. “There are in this world blessed souls, whose sorrows all spring up into joys for others; whose earthly hopes, laid in the grave with many tears, are the seed from which spring healing flowers and balm for the desolate and the distressed.” I feel that Stowe sets herself apart in a novel of social commentary by portraying these two women as having similar experiences. Both love their children; both know depths of grief. The color of skin does not automatically make one more or less feeling than the other and does not exempt either from sorrow. Stowe leaves the reader with the haunting question of whether apathy and inaction from the general masses leading to the perpetuation of slavery is not just as harsh a crime as the slave trader who rips the baby from its mother’s breast.
Women in general are continually finding a stronger and bolder voice at this point in history. Elizabeth Drew Stoddard portrays a woman who finds herself a different kind of slave in “Lemorne versus Huell.” Several times Margaret recognizes that her opinion is not being solicited and her wishes not being voiced, yet she seems to be consoling herself with being wanted. She expresses her plight, “Every person’s individuality was sacred to me, from the fact, perhaps, that my own individuality had never been respected by any person with whom I had any relation—not even by my own mother.” Though it appears Margaret might have gained her freedom and happiness by marrying Mr. Uxbridge, she has really just passed into a new slavery. Without her knowledge, her marriage has been more about an economic transaction than a vow of commitment and love. I think this reading ties the struggle of women and slaves at this period together. Neither were necessarily recognized as individuals; both were often used as a means to an end, to a gain of finance. Margaret says, “I was not allowed to give myself—I was taken.” This was the painful reality for far too many women and slaves. This denial of individual rights flew directly in the face of the proud, optimistic individualism of the Transcendentalists. It is no wonder that many of those men were strong abolitionists.

One scene in Uncle Tom’s Cabin reminded me of The Confidence Man. In this scene (also held on a boat, interestingly enough), a clergyman twists the words of the Bible to support his own political and economic position. He claims that the Bible indicates the African race as destined for servitude, using the same slippery deception the Confidence Man often uses in duping his victims. Thankfully, Stowe inserts another character into the scene who brings up the Scripture: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But such twisted use of the Bible simply underscores the stubborn blindness of many Americans to what could not have been interpreted as less than an inhumane, evil, exploitive institution.