I am finally here. I walk to the door, knock and then ask, "Hello? Is anyone home?" Right after I say this I realize that we set up this meeting, so of course she would be there. I am nervous. Even though I have done many speeches in front of crowds I am still nervous. For good reason of course! Harriet Beecher Stowe made such a big influence on the world by simply sharing the pain and suffering that came with slavery.
The door opens and I can see her. She says, "Hello. You must be Ruth."
"Yes and I assure you are Harriet?" I say, smiling. "I am very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Stowe. You are a very inspirational figure whom I look up to."
Harriet Stowe laughs. "You look up to me? I look up to you. You have given so many great speeches on peacefully resisting slavery without violence." she says.
She looks up to me? Really? I thank her and add, "Slavery is bad enough, but the people are getting more and more violent. Nowadays it is harder to escape plantations because of the strict slave codes, but the people that do still have to watch their backs. They come to the North where they think they can be free, but slave catchers are everywhere and are just looking for rewards."
"Even though I have never been enslaved, I know what it is like to lose someone. In that way, I like to think that I have a better view on how slave families feel when they are torn apart. The sadness when someone goes away and you can do nothing about it." Stowe says with empathy. "I am so sorry, do come in. We have much to talk about."
I step across the threshold and Mrs. Stowe leads me through her house.
As we are walking, I ask, "Mrs. Stowe, would you consider donating a few copies of Uncle Tom's Cabin? I feel that speeches are great ways to get information across, but people can keep that information in a book. This way, they can read it whenever they would like and continue to get valuable information about what a slave's life consists of."
"Do not worry about that. I agree that people should be able to know more about slavery in order to save ourselves from our human arrogance. I also get why these people would need to be free. Slaves are lucky enough to escape, but it is very hard to find a job that is not owned by a white. The jobs that are not owned by whites do not always get the best business simply because of the color of their skin." she says.
We finally reach the dining room where the table had a simple selection of food. I glance at her with confusion.
She answers, "I have made an awful lot money from Uncle Tom's Cabin, but I prefer to give it to slaves that are in need or peaceful anti-slavery groups."
"That is very generous of you to do that! These groups need all the support that they can get to try to influence the government and hopefully turn white minds around. Many slaves revert to violence because it is acts like those which get attention. However, we are fighting to get people to side with us and they will not if they think we are dangerous and revert back to their cold Southern ways." I say. "Slavery broke my family apart. My parents were separated from me when I was 12 years old, and my sister, Maggie, passed away a few months ago."
"I am so very sorry for your loss. May I ask what happened?" Harriet asks curiously but also with sadness in her voice.
"Thank you. My sister and I had obtained our freedom from our Mistress and we left to go to the North. We were doing alright until one day we had to cross the border. The Border Ruffians were there and thought we were runaway slaves. They managed to shoot Maggie and were about to shoot me when I was pulled away." I say, sadly remembering the past.
"I also lost someone in my family." said Harriet. "My 18-month old son, Samuel Charles Stowe, died of cholera. He was so young and happy, filled with so much promise when it quickly got taken away. When slaves become slaves, they are not allowed to read or write or learn. You learned to read and write, and look at the fine woman you have become. Slavery has probably taken some of the best writers in the world who will never know the alphabet. For that reason, I will of course have the books come to you in two weeks."
"Thank you so much!" I reply.
Harriet walks me back to the foyer.
"It was lovely meeting you, Ruth. Have a safe trip." she says. We say our goodbyes, and I leave feeling accomplished knowing that this will change people for the better.
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YOU ARE READING
Freedom At Last
Short StoryRuth finds herself away from everything familiar when she leaves her master's plantation. Little does she know that she has quite a journey ahead of her. This is set back in the 1800s. Created with @cakebaker666