March 20: Uncle Tom's Cabin

On this date in History ... March 20, 1852:

The book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is published.  It was originally released in segments via the weekly newspaper “The National Era”.  The book was a runaway best seller, with 10,000 copies the first week and 300,000 copies within 3 months, and had a major influence on the way the American public viewed slavery. The book established author Harriet Beecher Stowe's reputation as a “woman of letters”. 

Levi Coffin Home, Fountain City Indiana
Photo courtesy of www.waynet.org

It is said that the character “Eliza” was based on a slave that came thru the Levi Coffin Home, located in (my hometown of) Fountain City, Indiana.  In my research, many stations on the Underground Railroad also claim this same celebrity. 

In 1863, when Lincoln announced the end of slavery, Stowe danced in the streets.  

July 23: The Real McCoy

On this date in History ... July 23, 1872:

Elijah McCoy is issued patent #129843 for an “Improvement in Lubricators for Steam Engines”.  

McCoy was the son of former slaves who escaped from Kentucky through the Underground Railroad. His reputation on his multiple patented items was so great that people would ask, when buying equipment, if it was “the real McCoy” or an imitation. 50 of his patents dealt with lubricating machines. 

In Booker T. Washington’s 1909 book “The Story of the Negro”, he cited McCoy as having produced more patents than any other black inventor up to that time. 

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