(June 14, 1811–July 1, 1896), was an American teacher and author. She became famous for authoring the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1852. She was the daughter of the New England minister Lyman Beecher, and the sister of Henry Ward Beecher, one of the most renowned preachers of the day.
Her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published first in serial form between 1851–52, gained international fame and greatly stirred up the abolitionist movement. When President Lincoln met her, he greeted her by saying:
So you’re the little lady who started the big war.2441
Her book ends by saying:
A day of grace is yet held out to us. Both North and South have been guilty before God; and the Christian church has a heavy account to answer. Not by combining together, to protect injustice and cruelty, and making a common capital of sin, is this Union to be saved, but by repentance, justice and mercy.2442