A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin: Presenting the original facts and documents upon which the story is founded. Together with corroborative statements verifying the truth of the work.Stowe, Harriet Beecher
History
A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin: Presenting the original facts and documents upon which the story is founded. Together with corroborative statements verifying the truth of the work.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher
Enslaved persons -- United States -- Social conditions; Literature and society -- United States -- History -- 19th century; Political fiction -- Sources; Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896. Uncle Tom's cabin -- Sources; Uncle Tom (Fictitious character)
The vision attributed to Uncle Tom introduces quite a curious chapter of
psychology with regard to the negro race, and indicates a peculiarity
which goes far to show how very different they are from the white race.
They are possessed of a nervous organization peculiarly susceptible and
impressible. Their sensations and impressions are very vivid, and their
fancy and imagination lively. In this respect the race has an oriental
character, and betrays its tropical origin. Like the Hebrews of old and
the oriental nations of the present, they give vent to their emotions
with the utmost vivacity of expression, and their whole bodily system
sympathizes with the movements of their minds. When in distress, they
actually lift up their voices to weep, and “cry with an exceeding bitter
cry.” When alarmed, they are often paralyzed, and rendered entirely
helpless. Their religious exercises are all colored by this sensitive
and exceedingly vivacious temperament. Like oriental nations, they
incline much to outward expressions, violent gesticulations, and
agitating movements of the body. Sometimes, in their religious meetings,
they will spring from the floor many times in succession, with a
violence and rapidity which is perfectly astonishing. They will laugh,
weep, embrace each other convulsively, and sometimes become entirely
paralyzed and cataleptic. A clergyman from the North once remonstrated
with a Southern clergyman for permitting such extravagances among his
flock. The reply of the Southern minister was, in effect, this: “Sir, I
am satisfied that the races are so essentially different that they
cannot be regulated by the same rules. I, at first, felt as you do; and,
though I saw that genuine conversions did take place, with all this
outward manifestation, I was still so much annoyed by it as to forbid it
among my negroes, till I was satisfied that the repression of it was a
serious hindrance to real religious feeling; and then I became certain
that all men cannot be regulated in their religious exercises by one
model. I am assured that conversions produced with these accessories are
quite as apt to be genuine, and to be as influential over the heart and
life, as those produced in any other way.” The fact is, that the
Anglo-Saxon race—cool, logical and practical—have yet to learn the
doctrine of toleration for the peculiarities of other races; and perhaps
it was with a foresight of their peculiar character, and dominant
position in the earth, that God gave the Bible to them in the fervent
language and with the glowing imagery of the more susceptible and
passionate oriental races.
Mesmerists have found that the negroes are singularly susceptible to all
that class of influences which produce catalepsy, mesmeric sleep, and
partial clairvoyant phenomena.
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