the harriet beecher stowe center here in hartford, connecticut, uses stowe's story to inspire social justice and positive change. we are not just about the past and the issues, the american issues of the 19th century, but we want to take those issues and look at them in the present and try and inspire people to be good citizens today and participate in solving today's problems so that we can all continue to work towards fulfilling the promise of america. that's our mission. harriet beecher stowe, of course, best known for "uncle tom's cabin," an amazingly interesting and complex book and a very important book in american history. the book is going to be officially released on june 14, 2011, which is actually harriet beecher stowe's 200th birthday. but tonight here as we are in mid may, you can buy at the stowe center tonight your own copies of david's book, and you will be able to get the book signed, of course, and the price tonight is a special price just for tonight. so when you go to your book store on june 14th -- you should just get the book tonight. [laughter] um, we had the o

it's about an hour and 20 minutes. >> welcome to the harriet beecher stowe museum. i'm director of the center and we're just delighted that you are here to introduce david reynolds new book and hear about harriet beecher stowe and uncle's tom kevin in her 200th birthday year. this is exciting. the harriet beecher stowe center uses the story to inspire social justice and positive change. we are not just about the past and the issues, the american issues of the 19th century, but we want to take those issues and look at them in the present and try to inspire people to be good citizens today and participate in solving today's problem so we can continue to work towards fulfilling the promise of america. that is the mission. harriet beecher stowe of course best known for on call tom's cabin, and amazingly interesting and complex book and important book in american history. the book is going to be officially released on june 14th, 2011 which is actually harriet beecher stowe's 200th birthday. but tonight as we are in mid may you can buy at the center tonight you're own copi

there's an apock create fall story that lincoln met harriet beecher stowe and said this is the little lady who started this great war. whether he said it or not, you know, it's meaningful. kansas, the war in kansas, the kansas/nebraska act of -- you had a civil war, you had murder going on. people of kansas and missouri were murdering each other over slavery. if you think we're living through tough times now, i mean, nothing compared -- i mean, you had bands of guerrilla fighters including john brown. and john brown, who's insane, but not insane enough to commit murder, gets together with his crazy family and a bunch of other anti-slavery nut cases, and they're out there with a guerrilla army in kansas murdering people for no reason other than they are pro-slavery or that they owned slaves. murdering people. his most vicious act, the massacre at potowatomie, i don't know if i pronounced that right, creek in 1856 with four of his sons and three other men, they abducted five men -- i don't even think they were slave owners -- and got a broad sword and cut, you know, cut their skulls in

[inaudible question] >> where harriet beecher stowe and roche "uncle tom's cabin," i believe, there is a store on route one called uncle tom's market. if you're ever going through maine is there. i'm sure a lot of people are very surprised and they see it. that is because that is where she wrote the book. >> well, john and i and a whole bunch of others, the 200th anniversary in june. we will stop by there. this. -- yes. >> i wonder if you could give a time line so we have more of a context when she wrote the book. the fugitive since act, the dread scott decision, john brown was causing havoc and so forth. >> rudd, what happened in 1850, the fugitive slave law, a fugitive slaves from the come to the north, if you don't capture them and help return them to the south you go sale and pay a thousand dollars fine which was a lot of money back then. really, really mad about that. her sister-in-law said, you know how to write. why don't you go back and write a novel. she said don't you know, i'm going to. and she did. but then what happens, however, is that there are a series of other laws aft