Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) is one of the most influential American abolitionist writers. Raised in a Calvinist family, Stowe’s religious beliefs influenced her anti-slavery views. After the Fugitive Slave Act that made assisting an escaped slave a federal offense passed in 1850, Stowe decided to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published in 1852, told the story of several slaves on a Kentucky plantation. Since its original publication, the novel is still regarded as a prominent work within abolitionist literature.
The Harriet Beecher Stowe stamp was issued in Washington, DC, as part of the Distinguished Americans Series. The stamp was designed by Richard Sheaff and contains a portrait of Stowe by Mark Summers. The portrait was based on a stipple engraving by Francis Holl that was made in 1855.
