In 1962, Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe. According to legend, he said: “So you are the little lady who wrote the book that started this Great War” (Harriet Beecher Stowe Center). Uncle Tom's Cabin, a controversial novel written about slavery during the 1800s, stirred up many feelings that would ultimately boil over into the bloodiest war America has ever seen. At the beginning of the novel, Mr. Shelby, a Kentucky plantation owner, must sell two of his slaves in order to settle his debt to Haley, a slave trader. Going against his conscience, he decides to sell Tom, an old, religious and faithful slave, and Harry, a brilliant toddler. When Harry's mother Eliza overhears Mr. Shelby discussing the problem with his wife, Eliza decides to run away. Eliza leaves, hoping to find her husband in Canada who also decided to flee his master earlier in the day. . In the morning, when Haley discovers that Eliza has run away, he pursues her until Eliza daringly escapes across the Ohio River by running on pieces of floating ice. After employing a group of men to find Eliza, Tom and Haley leave for New Orleans. While traveling down the river on a steamboat, Tom befriends a young girl named Eva and saves her from drowning when she falls overboard. Eva's father, St. Clare, buys Tom to be Eva's personal servant. Over time, Tom and Eva become very close. Eva, like her father, is very kind and devoted to her slaves. She even transforms the life of a hardened young slave named Topsy. When it becomes clear that Eva, now very ill, is going to die, she gathers all the servants and gives each of them her golden locks so that they can remember her. Eva dies peacefully, but her family...... middle of paper ......Print.Clendenning, John. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” World Book. 2002. Print.Donald, David Herbert. “Abolitionist Movement in the United States.” World Book. 2002. Print.Donald, David Herbert. “Underground railway.” World Book. 2002. Print. “Impact of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Slavery, and the Civil War.” » The national and international impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, nd Web. September 24, 2013. “North America Review.” Reverend of Uncle Tom's Cabin. North American Review [Boston] October 1853: 467-93. Stephen Railton, 1998. The web. September 24, 2013. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin, or life among the humble. New York: Sterling, 2012. PrintWalpole. "Southern Slavery. A Look at Uncle Tom's Cabin." Reverend of Uncle Tom's Cabin. New York Times June 22, 1853: n. page. Stephen Railton, 2004. The web. September 24. 2013