Final answer:
Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, is not about a slave who escapes from Mississippi to Vermont, but about slaves sold by their Kentucky owner. Some characters are sold, while others manage to escape. The novel played an important role in promoting the abolitionist movement by revealing the brutal realities of slavery.
Step-by-step explanation:
False, Uncle Tom's Cabin is not about an escaped slave who fled Mississippi and reached Vermont. Instead, the novel authored by Harriet Beecher Stowe tells the story of enslaved people sold by their Kentucky enslaver. One character, Uncle Tom, is sold down the river, while a young woman named Eliza escapes with her child. The novel emphasizes the destructive influence of slavery on families and its corrupting effect on White citizens benefitting from the institution.
Stowe's novel was a significant reaction against the Fugitive Slave Act and had a substantial impact on public opinion - contributing greatly to the abolitionist movement. Its vivid descriptions of the harsh realities of slave life and focus on the moral wrongs of the institution (including the tearing apart of families and the physical violence and exploitation inflicted on slaves) helped shape the public's understanding of the true nature of slavery.
Published first as a series of stories in a Free Soil newspaper in 1851 and then as a full novel in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin became a major bestseller. It continues to be read widely today, showing the enduring power of literature in shedding a light upon societal injustices.
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