From the Director's Desk: "Listen to Harriet"

Christina Hartlieb, Executive Director of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati, leads a Walnut Hills history walking tour in June 2023.

There is no place for political violence in the United States.  Assassination attempts on political candidates should never happen. Political candidates using unfounded rhetoric against communities which then incite fear and violence against that community is dangerous and despicable.  Why have we not learned from the trials of the past? Why can we not show compassion and care for others, even if we don’t agree with them? Why?
 
In the summer of 1836, Cincinnati experienced anti-Black riots.  White newspaper editor, James Birney, published the abolitionist paper, the Philanthropist. In the 1830s, anti-slavery positions were not normal, particularly in this border city, whose economy was connected to the South. Birney was attacked by an angry pro-slavery mob, his printing press torn to pieces, and thrown into the Ohio River.  The crowd then turned against the free Black community living in the neighborhoods along the riverfront.  Anti-Black violence consumed the city for days.

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Harriet Beecher Stowe, who lived in Cincinnati from 1832-1850. She started writing Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1851. It became the best-selling book behind the Bible for all of the 1800s.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, a newly married young writer, pregnant with twins, watched this brutality from her father’s house in Walnut Hills.  She wrote a letter to the editor of another newspaper in town in the guise of a short story.  Two gentlemen are speaking at the dinner table about the Birney incident and the “extreme” nature of abolition.  The thesis of the story boils down to three messages:
- Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are important for a democracy
- Even if you do not agree with your neighbors, that is not a valid reason to attack them
- When you start that form of mob violence, it will spread and will probably backfire on you.
 
It is incredible to me – looking at our situation today – that this piece could have been written just yesterday. One hundred and eighty-eight years have passed (that’s 9 score and 8 years for people who like historical analogies) and yet we still need to be reminded of these “American ideals.” 

• Speak your mind, but recognize other viewpoints
• Violence against our fellow humans is not the answer
• Treat your neighbors as you want to be treated. 

 
We all experience trials and tribulations – so why would you deliberately harm others?  Please listen to Harriet. She used her voice to advocate for the freedom and humanity of everyone.  Why can’t we do the same?
 
Christina Hartlieb
Executive Director, Harriet Beecher Stowe House

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CLICK HERE to read the full text of Harriet's 1836 letter to the editor as well as additional articles surrounding anti-Black mob violence in Cincinnati in the 1830s.