Question 1

True or false: Stowe's father, Lyman Beecher, was a famous abolitionist preacher.

Accepted Answer

True. Lyman Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist minister and fervent abolitionist, heavily influencing Harriet's moral views.

Question 2

True or false: She died in poverty, forgotten by the public.

Accepted Answer

False. Stowe died wealthy and famous, having earned substantial royalties; her funeral was a major public event.

Question 3

True or false: Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' after meeting Abraham Lincoln.

Accepted Answer

False. Lincoln supposedly called her 'the little woman who started this great war,' but the meeting occurred after the book's publication, not before.

Question 4

True or false: She never visited the South before writing 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.'

Accepted Answer

False. Stowe briefly visited Kentucky (a slave state) in 1833, but most of her book's detail came from research and fugitive slave accounts.

Question 5

True or false: Stowe wrote over 30 books, including travel memoirs and poetry.

Accepted Answer

True. Besides her famous novel, she authored travelogues, poetry, and children's books, showcasing her versatility.

Question 6

True or false: Her novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was banned in the Soviet Union.

Accepted Answer

False. Actually, it was widely celebrated in the Soviet Union as a critique of oppression, though it was banned in some Southern U.S. states.

Question 7

True or false: She was the first woman to testify before the U.S. Congress.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1856, Stowe testified before a Senate committee on a bill to improve conditions for Native Americans, a little-known fact.

Question 8

True or false: Stowe helped a fugitive slave escape via the Underground Railroad.

Accepted Answer

True. She sheltered and aided a runaway slave named Eliza (namesake for her character) in her own home in Cincinnati.

Harriet Beecher Stowe Trivia Questions