Uncle Tom's Cabin

NYT reports that the orginial Uncle Tom's Cabin was part of the 3 bedroom house and an acre of land went on sale and were bought by the Montgomery County for ~ $1M.

Among the farm's slaves was Josiah Henson, the man Harriet Beecher Stowe used as a model for the Uncle Tom character in her 1852 novel on slavery, "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

This novel did much to galvanize northern public opinion against slavery. Uncle Tom's Cabin, or, Life Among the Lowly began as a ten-month serial in the National Era, an abolitionist newspaper, on June 5, 1851. Abraham Lincoln is said to have called her the "little lady who made this big war." (Answers.com)

A highlight of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I (1951) is a ballet, "Small House of Uncle Thomas" based on the novel.

I also remember reading that Gandhi was inspired by the novel's non-violent theme.