The Life of Josiah Henson: An Inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom
Select Format
Select Condition 
Book Overview
Born into slavery on a Maryland farm, Josiah Henson (1789-1883) worked as a foreman, married, and became a preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Faced with the prospect of separation from his family, Henson fled with his wife and children to Ontario, where he became a leader in the Afro-Canadian community. The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself first appeared in 1849. The book's avid readers included Harriet Beecher Stowe, who later acknowledged its influence on her own masterwork, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Henson's narrative recounts the circumstances of his bondage, his conversion to Christianity, and his fruitless attempts to buy his freedom. Risking starvation, exposure, and recapture, the Henson family walked from Kentucky to Ohio. Native Americans assisted the struggling family, as did sympathetic boatmen who ferried them across Lake Erie. Safely established as a tenant farmer and clergyman in a new country, Henson took an active role in organizing a self-sufficient community. His memoirs helped alert his contemporaries to the horrors and heartbreak of slavery, and they offer modern readers an authentic account of one family's triumph over injustice and inhumanity.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0486800458
ISBN13:9780486800455
Release Date:January 2016
Publisher:Dover Publications
Length:96 Pages
Weight:0.22 lbs.
Dimensions:0.2" x 5.0" x 8.0"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Josiah Henson, The person who was the Inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom character in
Published by Jantra Morris , 1 year ago
Josiah Henson wrote his book, The Autobiography of Josiah Henson in 1849 for the purpose of raising money to purchase his brothers freedom. Born into slavery in 1789, Henson was an inspiration as he rescued many people held captive during that time in history. Beecher Stowe acknowledged in her book The Key To Uncle Tom's cabin published in 1853, that she had read Henson's autobiography and his life story was her inspiration for Uncle Tom's cabin and the character of Uncle Tom. The life of Josiah Henson should be read in every household with family, friends and neighbors as well as in the school system and a favorite bookclub selection ❤️.
Copyright © 2025 Thriftbooks.com
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information | Cookie Policy | Cookie Preferences | Accessibility Statement
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
