Uncle Tom

Uncle Tom, title character in the antislavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (serialized 1851–52, published as a book in 1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Initially, the character Tom—called “Uncle” Tom in the Southern fashion of showing respect for an older man—was viewed sympathetically by the novel’s readers. Stowe made him an exemplar of virtue and dignity who is far superior in character to the white slaveholders portrayed. He lives his Christian convictions, opposing violence despite the brutality he himself bears. Stowe’s Tom is brave, strong, and good. He saves the life of and is a good friend to Little Eva, his slaveholder’s frail young daughter. After Tom is sold to the evil Simon Legree, he is whipped to death for refusing to divulge the whereabouts of some runaways.

In the mid-20th century, however, the long-suffering and saintly character came to be seen as submissive and spineless. He was taken as a negative example, and to be called an “Uncle Tom” became a deep insult. Malcolm X, for example, branded Uncle Tom a “race traitor,” and boxer Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay) addressed his opponents as “Uncle Toms” when they refused to use his Muslim name. Thus, despite the salutary effects of Stowe’s novel on the practice of slavery itself, its main protagonist became a figure of controversy.