This Day in History: March 20

Here’s a brief look back in time on this day, March 20.

In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel about a slave and his family finding their way to freedom is published. Titled Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the book was a sensation in the northern half of the country, where the majority of the population were anti-slavery. This story provided an intimate, harrowing look into the life of a slave, including the capture, torture, and in most cases, murder, of an enslaved African American. It allegedly sold over 300,000 copies within the first three months: a staggering record that was hard to break during this time.

In 1854, dissents of the Whig Party meet in Ripon, WI, to discuss the formation of a new political party to counter against the pro-slavery Democrats. These abolitionists have met in sparse gatherings, but began to pick up steam upon the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act: a bill that was meant to support the construction of a transcontinental railroad. However, this later turned into heated compromises with constituents that permit slavery, debating over the fate of its newly acquired land: the Kansas Territory. The passage of this bill led to the Kansas Territory becoming a warzone, with raids and murders happening almost-daily between proponents of Kansas becoming a slave state or a free state. To counter against such bloodshed, the Whigs agreed to form a new alliance: the Republican Party.