American Memory Project Presenters and Creators: Angela Brady and Abdelilah Mouayani

Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn "The man who does not read books has no advantage over the man that can not read them.” MT

Key Facts about the novel Written in Hartford, Connecticut and Elmira, New York from First publication: 1884 Publisher: Charles L. Webster & Co. Time: Before the Civil War, Setting: The Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri; various locations along the river through Arkansas

Text and Context Themes · Racism and slavery; intellectual and moral education; the hypocrisy of “civilized” society

Slavery Prior to the Civil War, America could be seen as two territories with their own cultures. The North was thriving with industry, immigrants, and various commerce. The South, on the other hand, was involved with agriculture, especially growing cotton. In 1800, there were a total of 893,602 slaves in the United States: only 36,505 in the North and by 1860, there were 3,953,760 slaves in the Southern states. du/fox/melville/slavery.htm The map above show the shifting balance of power between the "free" states and the "slave" states in the United States from 1820 to 1860.

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