Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe lived in Cincinnati for nearly twenty years, where her father was president of Lane Theological Seminary. She began her writing career there, joined a local writing group called the Semi-Colon Club, and wrote for abolitionist newspapers. While living in Cincinnati, she traveled to Kentucky and witnessed a slave auction. These Ohio-era experiences directly inspired Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1851-52), which became the best-selling book of the 19th century and galvanized the abolitionist movement.