Lemon
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Citrus
Species:	C. × limon
Binomial name
Citrus × limon, often given as C. limon (L.) Burm.f.

The lemon (Citrus × limon) is a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit's juice, pulp and peel, especially the zest, are used as foods. The juice of the lemon is about 5% to 6% citric acid, which gives lemons a sour taste. The distinctive sour taste of lemon juice makes it a key ingredient in drinks and foods such as lemonade.

History[link]

A lemon tree with fruit and flowers

The origin of the lemon is a mystery, though it is thought that lemons first grew in Southern India, northern Burma, and China.^[1][2] A study of the genetic origin of the lemon reported that it is a hybrid between sour orange and citron.^[3]

Lemons entered Europe near southern Italy no later than the 1st century AD, during the time of Ancient Rome. However, they were not widely cultivated. They were later introduced to Persia and then to Iraq and Egypt around 700 AD. The lemon was first recorded in literature in a 10th century Arabic treatise on farming, and was also used as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens.^[1][2] It was distributed widely throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean region between 1000 and 1150.

The first substantial cultivation of lemons in Europe began in Genoa in the middle of the 15th century.^[2] The lemon was later introduced to the Americas in 1493 when Christopher Columbus brought lemon seeds to Hispaniola on his voyages. Spanish conquest throughout the New World helped spread lemon seeds. It was mainly used as an ornamental plant and for medicine.^[2] In the 18th and 19th centuries, lemons were increasingly planted in Florida and California.^[4]

In 1747, James Lind's experiments on seamen suffering from scurvy involved adding vitamin C to their diets with lemon juice.^[5][6]

The origin of the word lemon may be Middle Eastern. One of the earliest occurrences of "lemon" appears in a Middle English customs document of 1420–1421, which draws from the Old French limon, thence the Italian limone, from the Arabic laymūn or līmūn ليمون, and from the Persian līmūn لیمو, a generic term for the fruit of this kind, which is congnative with Sanskrit निम्ब (nimbū, “lime”).^[7]

Growing lemons[link]

A lemon tree in Corsica

Lemons are often grafted to more vigorous rootstocks.

Varieties[link]

The Bonnie Brae is oblong, smooth, thin skinned and seedless;^[8] mostly grown in San Diego County.^[9]

The Bush lemon tree, a naturalized lemon, grows wild in subtropical Australia. It is very hardy, and has a thick skin with a true lemon flavor; the zest is good for cooking. It grows to about 4m in a sunny position.

The Eureka grows year-round and abundantly. This is the common supermarket lemon.^[10]

The Femminello St. Teresa, or Sorrento^[11] is native to Italy. This fruit's zest is high in lemon oils. It is the variety traditionally used in the making of limoncello.

The Jhambiri (C. jhambiri) (Tan) is a rough lemon which has a lemon yellow exterior and a very sour pulp. It is widely used as a rootstock in South Asia.

The Lisbon is a good quality bitter lemon with high juice and acid levels, the fruits of Lisbon are very similar to Eureka. The vigorous and productive trees are very thorny, particularly when young.

The Meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and possibly an orange or a mandarin, and was named after Frank N. Meyer, who first discovered it in 1908. Thin-skinned and slightly less acidic than the Lisbon and Eureka lemons, Meyer lemons require more care when shipping and are not widely grown on a commercial basis. Meyer lemons have a much thinner rind, and often mature to a yellow-orange color. Meyer lemons are slightly more frost-tolerant than other lemons.

The Ponderosa lemon is more cold-sensitive than true lemons; the fruit are thick-skinned and very large. It is likely a citron-lemon hybrid.

The Variegated Pink is a varietal of the eureka or lisbon cultivars with variegated patterns in the foliage and the rinds of immature green fruit. Upon maturing to yellow, the variegated pattern recedes in the fruit rind. The flesh and juice are pink or pinkish-orange instead of yellow.

The Verna is a Spanish variety of unknown origin.

The Yen Ben is an Australasian cultivar.^[12]

Culinary uses[link]

Lemon Pickle

Lemon juice, rind, and zest are used in a wide variety of food and drink. Lemon juice is used to make lemonade, soft drinks, and cocktails. It is used in marinades for fish, where its acid neutralizes amines in fish by converting them into non-volatile ammonium salts, and meat, where the acid partially hydrolyzes tough collagen fibers, tenderizing the meat, but the low pH denatures the proteins, causing them to dry out when cooked. Lemon juice is frequently used in the United Kingdom to add to pancakes, especially on Shrove Tuesday.

Lemon juice is also used as a short-term preservative on certain foods that tend to oxidize and turn brown after being sliced, such as apples, bananas and avocados, where its acid denatures the enzymes that cause browning and degradation.

Lemon juice and rind are used to make marmalade and lemon liqueur. Lemon slices and lemon rind are used as a garnish for food and drinks. Lemon zest, the grated outer rind of the fruit, is used to add flavor to baked goods, puddings, rice and other dishes.

Preserved lemons are a part of Moroccan cuisine. They are also one of the main ingredients in many Indian cuisines. Either lemon pickle or mango pickle is part of everyday lunches in Southern India.^{[citation needed]}

The leaves of the lemon tree are used to make a tea and for preparing cooked meats and seafoods.

Other uses[link]

Lemon oil may be used in aromatherapy. Researchers at The Ohio State University found that lemon oil aroma does not influence the human immune system, but may enhance mood.^[13] The low pH of juice makes it antibacterial.

Lemons were the primary commercial source of citric acid prior to the development of fermentation-based processes. A halved lemon is used as a finger moistener for those counting large amounts of bills, such as tellers and cashiers.

The juice of the lemon may be used for cleaning. A halved lemon dipped in salt or baking powder is used to brighten copper cookware. The acid dissolves the tarnish and the abrasives assist the cleaning. As a sanitary kitchen deodorizer the juice can deodorize, remove grease, bleach stains, and disinfect; when mixed with baking soda, it removes stains from plastic food storage containers.^[14] The oil of the lemon's peel also has various uses. It is used as a wood cleaner and polish, where its solvent property is employed to dissolve old wax, fingerprints, and grime. Lemon oil is also used as a nontoxic insecticide treatment. See orange oil.

One educational science experiment involves attaching electrodes to a lemon and using it as a battery to produce electricity. Although very low power, several lemon batteries can power a small digital watch.^[15] These experiments also work with other fruits and vegetables. Lemon juice is also sometimes used as an acid in educational science experiments.

In India, the lemon is used in Indian traditional medicines Siddha Medicine and Ayurveda.^{[citation needed]}

Lemon alternatives[link]

Many plants taste or smell similar to lemons.

• Certain cultivars of basil
• Cymbopogon (lemon grass)
• Lemon balm, a mint-like herbaceous perennial in the Lamiaceae family
• Two varieties of scented geranium: Pelargonium crispum (lemon geranium) and Pelargonium x melissinum 'Lemon Balm'
• Lemongrass
• Lemon myrtle, recently, this Australian bush food has become a popular alternative to lemons.^[16] The crushed and dried leaves and edible essential oils have a strong, sweet lemon taste, but contain no citric acid. Lemon myrtle is popular in foods that curdle with lemon juice, such as cheesecake and ice cream.
• Lemon thyme
• Lemon verbena
• Limes, another common sour citrus fruit, used similarly to lemons
• Certain cultivars of mint
• Magnolia grandiflora tree flowers

Production[link]

India tops the production list with about 16% of the world's overall lemon and lime output, followed by Mexico (~14.5%), Argentina (~10%), Brazil (~8%) and Spain (~7%).

Top Ten Lemons and Limes Producers – 2007
Country	Production (Tonnes)
India	2,060,000F
Mexico	1,880,000F
Argentina	1,260,000F
Brazil	1,060,000F
Spain	880,000F
People's Republic of China	745,100F
United States	722,000
Turkey	706,652
Iran	615,000F
Italy	546,584
World	13,032,388F
No symbol = official figure, F = FAO estimate, A = Aggregate (may include official, semi-official or estimates); Source: Food And Agricultural Organization of United Nations: Economic And Social Department: The Statistical Division

Nutritional value[link]

The average lemon contains approximately 3 tablespoons (50 mL) of juice. Lemons left unrefrigerated for long periods of time are susceptible to mold.

A bee on a Meyer lemon flower

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Citrus x limon

Wikispecies has information related to: Citrus limon

v t e Citrus Important species Citron Key lime Persian lime Mandarin orange Pomelo Important cultivars Bitter orange Clementine Grapefruit Lemon Lime Orange Rangpur Tangelo Tangerine Naartjie Other topics Citrus production List of citrus diseases Orangery Book:Citrus Category:Citrus

Will Sasso
Will Sasso at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010.
Born	William Sasso[citation needed] (1975-05-24) May 24, 1975 (age 37) Ladner, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation	Actor, comedian
Years active	1990–present
Website
www.hamfatter.com

William "Will" Sasso (born May 24, 1975) is a Canadian actor and comedian most notable for his five seasons as a cast member on the sketch comedy series MADtv from 1997–2002 and for starring as Curly Howard in the 2012 film reboot of The Three Stooges.

Early life[link]

Sasso was born in Ladner, British Columbia, Canada. His parents are Italian immigrants.^[1] He graduated from Delta Secondary School in Delta, British Columbia in 1993. He credits his determination to become an actor and his respect for comedy to an "unhealthy addiction to television".^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

At the age of 15 he landed his first agent and quickly began booking roles in television and film. Before moving from Vancouver to Los Angeles, Sasso starred for five seasons as quirky teen `Derek Wakaluk' on the award-winning Canadian dramatic series Madison. Official mini-biographies claim that this experience ..."[allowed] him to hone his acting and improvisational skills... [and provided] him with enough money to buy a television of his own."

[edit] MADtv

By the end of its second season (1996–1997), MADtv experienced its first big cast turnover. Three of the show's repertory performers (Bryan Callen, Orlando Jones and Artie Lange) left the cast. As a result, in 1997, casting executives at FOX had to cast replacements for the show. Sasso (along with Alex Borstein and Aries Spears) was selected to join the MADtv third season cast as a regular cast member.

Sasso is known for quirky characters such as the accident prone handyman Paul Timberman, Eracist member Hugh, singer Michael McCloud, Talkin' American host Rui Peranio and Mexican luchador Señor Bag of Crap.

Sasso also does many celebrity impersonations, including impersonations of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris Farley, Steven Seagal, Bill Clinton, Drew Carey, Elton John, Elvis Presley, Fred Durst, George W. Bush, James Gandolfini (as himself and Tony Soprano), James Lipton, Jesse Ventura, Kenny Rogers, Lance Bass, Louie Anderson, Paul Shaffer, Randy Newman, Richard Simmons, Robert De Niro, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Wayne Newton, William Frawley (as Fred Mertz from I Love Lucy), and William Shatner (as himself and as James T. Kirk).

Will began developing several network television projects with Disney/Touchstone for ABC in 2001 and in 2002, Sasso left MADtv to pursue the next stage of his career.

Characters[link]

Professional wrestling[link]

Sasso is a professional wrestling fan, and has made appearances with multiple American pro wrestling promotions.

Sasso engaged in a worked shoot angle with former world champion wrestler (and fellow Canadian) Bret Hart, which began on February 6, 1999 during Hart's second guest appearance on MADtv. In a sketch lampooning the election of Jesse Ventura to gubernatorial office, Hart "broke character" and attacked the cast members for making light of wrestling, apparently injuring Sasso. He then appeared in a later episode at the curtain call during the ending credits and again attacked Sasso in an "unscripted" assault. Sasso then appeared at ringside during the February 8, 1999 episode of WCW Monday Nitro, where Hart again attacked him. Sasso retaliated by interfering in Hart's match against Roddy Piper, causing him to lose the match and the WCW United States Championship. This led to a grudge match on the February 15, 1999 episode of Nitro, where Sasso appeared with castmate Debra Wilson, who turned on Sasso, making it a one-sided match.

Sasso's impersonation of Stone Cold Steve Austin impressed the WWF so much that they asked him to be part of the February 7, 2002 episode of WWF SmackDown!, appearing alongside Chris Jericho and Austin himself, as a means to promote Austin's upcoming "MADtv" appearance. Sasso also appeared in the audience at WrestleMania X8, and can clearly be seen in the front row during the match between Ric Flair and the Undertaker.

On the live April 9, 2012 broadcast of WWE Raw, he appeared along with the other actors in The Three Stooges movie, alernating between Curly and Hulk Hogan impersonations. He was chokeslammed by Kane.

Recent years[link]

Since leaving MADtv, Sasso's television appearances include four seasons as "Carl Monari" on the ABC sitcom Less than Perfect, as well as a role in the Canadian original series Robson Arms. Sasso also played the role of Fortunio Balducci in the Richard Kelly film Southland Tales. Sasso starred in the CBS sitcom $#*! My Dad Says, based on the Twitter feed Shit My Dad Says created by Justin Halpern. The series premiered in the fall of 2010 and its cancellation was announced on May 15, 2011.^[2][3]

Sasso also appears in the music video for Sum 41 song "Still Waiting" as the manager for the band.

Sasso hosted the 2006 Canadian Comedy Awards in London, Ontario as well as the festival's "Sketch & Improv Showcases". Additionally, Sasso was a host at the 2005-2006 NHL award ceremony. Sasso appeared on the CSI episode "The Chick Chop Flick Shop". He also appeared on the Childrens Hospital]]"isode "Frankfurters".

As of February 20th, 2012, Will Sasso hosts 10 Minute Podcast with "Chris D'Elia" and "Bryan Callen". ^[4]

Television appearances[link]

• WWE Monday Night Raw (2012) as Curly-Hulk Hogan, promoting The Three Stooges film
• Childrens Hospital (2010) as Trucker
• Neighbors from Hell (2010) as Balthazor Hellman
• $#*! My Dad Says (2010) as Vince
• Two and a Half Men (2009) as Charlie's Recording Engineer
• How I Met Your Mother (2008 & 2011) as Doug (the bartender)
• Family Guy (2008) in The Man with Two Brians
• Robson Arms (2008) as Bark^[5]
• Entourage (2007) as Jay Lester
• 'Til Death (2006) as Russ
• Less than Perfect (2003–2006) as Carl Monari
• The Western Alienation Comedy Hour (2003) as Host - Himself
• WWF Smackdown! (2002) impersonating Stone Cold
• Latin Grammy Awards (2002) as Presenter - Himself
• Family Guy (2000) as Randy Newman (Credited as "William") in the episode Da Boom
• WCW Monday Night Nitro (1999) as himself
• MADtv (1997–2002) as Various Characters
• Dad's Week Off (1997) as Ivan "Boom Boom" Krutovski
• Annie O (1996) as Awesome Heckler
• Susie Q (1996) as Police Officer
• Doctor Who (1996) as Pete
• Heck's Way Home (1996) as Mover#1
• Sliders (1995–96) as Gomez Calhoun
• Madison (1994–1997) Derek Wakaluk
• The X-Files episode Je Souhaite (2000)
• The Odyssey (1994) Season 2

Filmography[link]

• The Three Stooges (2012) as Curly Howard
• The Legend of Awesomest Maximus (2010) as Awesomest Maximus (a.k.a. "National Lampoon's 31")
• Life As We Know It (2010) as Miss Pennsylvania's Husband
• Year of the Carnivore (2009) as Dirk
• Lower Learning (2008) as Jesse Buchwald
• College Road Trip (2008) as Deputy O'Malley
• Southland Tales (2007) as Fortunio Balducci
• Dark Ride (2006) as Hospital Aide
• Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005) as voice of Randy Newman/James Lipton
• The Hot Chick (2003) as Mr. Garbajian (deleted scenes)
• A Mighty Wind (2003) as Phil
• Still Waiting music video (2002) as Record Company Executive
• Dawg (2002, aka Bad Boy) as Willie Smits
• Best in Show (2000) as Dale
• Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) as Hank Vilmes
• Brown's Requiem (1998) as "Fat Dog" Baker
• The 6th Man (1997) as Scrubby D
• Beverly Hills Ninja (1997) (uncredited) as Chet Walters
• Doctor Who (1996) as Pete
• Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996) as Pizza Delivery Guy
• Happy Gilmore (1996) as Mover # 1
• Malicious (1996) as Guy
• Ski School II (1995) as Tomcat Collins
• Magic in the Water (1995) as Shy Young Orderly
• Ernest Goes to School (1994) as Russell

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Will Sasso at the Internet Movie Database
• Will Sasso on Tom Green Live
• Will Sasso's video interview with The Futon Critic's Jim Halterman

Don Lemon
On the National Mall during the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama
Born	(1966-03-01) March 1, 1966 (age 46) Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Residence	Atlanta, Georgia
Education	Brooklyn College Louisiana State University
Occupation	Journalist

Don Lemon (born March 1, 1966) is an American journalist and news presenter, best known as the host of the prime-time weekend edition of CNN Newsroom, based in Atlanta, Georgia.^[1]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Don Lemon was born on March 1, 1966 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He majored in broadcast journalism at Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, New York, and also attended Louisiana State University.^[1][2]

While in college, Lemon worked as a news assistant at WNYW (TV 5 in New York City). He has also reported as a weekend anchor for WCAU (TV 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); anchor and investigative reporter for KTVI (TV 2 in St. Louis); and anchor for WBRC (TV 6 in Birmingham, Alabama).^[1]

He reported for NBC News' New York City operations, including working as a correspondent for Today and NBC Nightly News and an anchor on Weekend Today and MSNBC. In August 2003 he began at NBC O&O station WMAQ-TV (5 in Chicago), and was a reporter and the 5 p.m. local news co-anchor.^[1]

Lemon joined CNN in September 2006.^[1] Lemon has been outspoken in his work at CNN, criticizing the state of cable news and questioning the network publicly.^[3]

Personal life[link]

During an on-air interview with members of Bishop Eddie Long's congregation on September 25, 2010, Lemon said that he was a victim of sex abuse as a child, and that it wasn't until he was thirty that he told his mother about it.^{[4][dead link]}

In his memoir, Transparent, released in May 2011, Lemon acknowledges publicly that he is gay^[5] and discusses colorism in the black community, racism, homophobia, and the sexual abuse that he suffered as a child.^[6]

Lemon lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Honors and awards[link]

Lemon won an Emmy Award for a special report on the real estate market in Chicago.^[7] He received an Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of the capture of the D.C. area sniper,^[8] and a number of other awards for reports on Hurricane Katrina, and the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Lemon was voted as one of the 150 most influential African Americans by Ebony magazine in 2009.^[9]

References[link]

This article is about the character from the Harriet Beecher Stowe novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the resulting epithet. For the P. G. Wodehouse character, see Tom Travers.

A 1901 stage adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin containing mixed elements of Harriet Beecher Stowe's original Christian martyr and the stock minstrel character of later adaptations.

Uncle Tom is the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.

The phrase "Uncle Tom" has also become an epithet for a person who is slavish and excessively subservient to perceived authority figures, particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people; or any person perceived to be a participant in the oppression of their own group.^[1][2]

Original characterization and critical evaluations[link]

Detail of an illustration from the first book edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Depicts Uncle Tom as young and muscular

At the time of the novel's initial publication in 1851 Uncle Tom was a rejection of the existing stereotypes of minstrel shows; Stowe's melodramatic story humanized the suffering of slavery for White audiences by portraying Tom as a Christlike figure who is ultimately martyred, beaten to death by a cruel master because Tom refuses to betray the whereabouts of two women who escape from slavery.^[3][4] Stowe reversed the gender conventions of slave narratives by juxtaposing Uncle Tom's passivity against the daring of three African American women who escape from slavery.^[3]

The novel was both influential and commercially successful, published as a serial from 1851-1852 and as a book from 1852 onward.^[3][4] An estimated 500,000 copies had sold worldwide by 1853, including unauthorized reprints.^[5] Senator Charles Sumner credited Uncle Tom's Cabin for the election of Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln himself reportedly quipped that Stowe had triggered the American Civil War.^[3] Frederick Douglass praised the novel as "a flash to light a million camp fires in front of the embattled hosts of slavery".^[3] Despite Douglass's enthusiasm, an anonymous 1852 reviewer for William Lloyd Garrison's publication The Liberator suspected a racial double standard in the idealization of Uncle Tom:

Uncle Tom’s character is sketched with great power and rare religious perception. It triumphantly exemplifies the nature, tendency, and results of CHRISTIAN NON-RESISTANCE. We are curious to know whether Mrs. Stowe is a believer in the duty of non-resistance for the White man, under all possible outrage and peril, as for the Black man… [For whites in parallel circumstances, it is often said] Talk not of overcoming evil with good—it is madness! Talk not of peacefully submitting to chains and stripes—it is base servility! Talk not of servants being obedient to their masters—let the blood of tyrants flow! How is this to be explained or reconciled? Is there one law of submission and non-resistance for the Black man, and another of rebellion and conflict for the white man? When it is the whites who are trodden in the dust, does Christ justify them in taking up arms to vindicate their rights? And when it is the blacks who are thus treated, does Christ require them to be patient, harmless, long-suffering, and forgiving? Are there two Christs?^[6]

James Weldon Johnson, a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance, expresses an ambivalent opinion in his autobiography:

For my part, I was never an admirer of Uncle Tom, nor of his type of goodness; but I believe that there were lots of old Negroes as foolishly good as he; the proof of which is that they knowingly stayed and worked on the plantations that furnished sinews for the army which was fighting to keep them enslaved.”^[7]

In 1949 American writer James Baldwin rejected the emasculation of the title character "robbed of his humanity and divested of his sex" as the price of spiritual salvation for a dark-skinned man in a fiction whose African-American characters, in Baldwin's view, were invariably two dimensional stereotypes.^[3][8] To Baldwin, Stowe was closer to a pamphleteer than a novelist and her artistic vision was fatally marred by polemics and racism that manifested especially in her handling of the title character.^[8] Stowe had stated that her sons had wept when she first read them the scene of Uncle Tom's death, but after Baldwin's essay it ceased being respectable to accept the melodrama of the Uncle Tom story.^[3] Uncle Tom became what critic Linda Williams describes as "an epithet of servility" and the novel's reputation plummeted until feminist critics led by Jane Tompkins reassessed the tale's female characters.^[3] According to Debra J. Rosenthal in an introduction to a collection of critical appraisals for the Routledge Literary Sourcebook on Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, overall reactions have been mixed with some critics praising the novel for affirming the humanity of the African American characters and for the risks Stowe assumed in taking a very public stand against slavery before abolitionism had become a socially acceptable cause, and others criticizing the very limited terms upon which those characters' humanity was affirmed and the artistic shortcomings of political melodrama.^[9]

Inspiration[link]

A specific impetus for the novel was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which imposed heavy fines upon law enforcement personnel in Northern states if they refused to assist the return of people who escaped from slavery.^[4][10] The new law also stripped African Americans of the right to request a jury trial or to testify on their own behalf, even if they were legally free, whenever a single claimant presented a sworn affidavit of ownership.^[10] The same law authorized a $1000 fine and six months imprisonment for anyone who knowingly harbored or assisted a fugitive slave.^[10] These terms infuriated Stowe, so the novel was written, read, and debated as a political abolitionist tract.^[4]

Stowe drew inspiration for the Uncle Tom character from several sources. The best-known of these was Josiah Henson, whose autobiography was originally published in 1849 and later republished in extensively revised editions after the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin.^[11] Henson was enslaved at birth in 1789.^[11] He became a Christian at age eighteen and took up preaching.^[11] Henson attempted to purchase his freedom for $450, but after selling his personal assets to raise $350 and signing a promissory note for the remainder Henson's owner raised the price to $1000; Henson was unable to prove that the original agreement had been for a lesser amount.^[11] Shortly afterward Henson was ordered on a trip south to New Orleans, and when he learned that he was to be sold there he obtained a weapon and contemplated murdering his white companions, but decided against violence because his Christian morals forbade it.^[11] A sudden illness in one of his companions forced their return to Kentucky, and shortly afterward Henson escaped north with his family, settling in Canada where he became a civic leader.^[11]

Stowe read the first edition of Henson's narrative and later confirmed that she had incorporated elements from it into Uncle Tom's Cabin.^[11] Kentucky and New Orleans figure in both Henson's narrative and the novel's settings, and some other story elements are similar.^[11]

In the public imagination, however, Henson became synonymous with Uncle Tom.^[11] After Stowe's death her son and grandson claimed she and Henson had met before Uncle Tom's Cabin was written, but the chronology does not hold up to scrutiny and she probably drew material only from his published autobiography.^[11]

Epithet[link]

Uncle Tom, from an 1885 magic lantern series.

The term "Uncle Tom" is used as a derogatory epithet for an excessively subservient person, particularly when that person perceives their own lower-class status based on race. It is similarly used to negatively describe a person who betrays their own group by participating in its oppression, whether or not they do so willingly.^[12][13]

The popular negative connotation of "Uncle Tom" has largely been attributed to numerous derivative works inspired by Uncle Tom's Cabin in the decade after its release, rather than the original novel itself, whose title character is a more positive figure.^[3] These works lampooned and distorted the portrayal of Uncle Tom with politically loaded overtones.^[5]

History[link]

American copyright law before 1856 did not give novel authors any control over derivative stage adaptations, so Stowe neither approved the adaptations nor profited from them.^[14] Minstrel show retellings in particular, usually performed by white men in blackface, tended to be derisive and pro-slavery, transforming Uncle Tom from Christian martyr to a fool or an apologist for slavery.^[5]

Adapted theatrical performances of the novel remained in continual production in the United States for at least eighty years.^[14] These representations had a lasting cultural impact and influenced the pejorative nature of the term Uncle Tom in later popular use.^[5]

Although not all minstrel depictions of Uncle Tom were negative, the dominant version developed into a stock character very different from Stowe's hero.^[5][15] Stowe's Uncle Tom was a muscular and virile man who refused to obey when ordered to beat other slaves; the stock character of minstrel shows became a shuffling asexual individual with a receding hairline and graying hair.^[15] To Jo-Ann Morgan, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin as Visual Culture, these shifting representations undermined the subversive layers of Stowe's original characterization by redefining Uncle Tom until he fit within prevailing racist norms.^[14] Particularly after the Civil War, as the political thrust of the novel which had arguably helped to precipitate that war became obsolete to actual political discourse, popular depictions of the title character recast him within the apologetics of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy.^[14] The virile father of the abolitionist serial and first book edition degenerated into a decrepit old man, and with that transformation the character lost the capacity for resistance that had originally given meaning to his choices.^[14][15] Stowe never meant Uncle Tom to be a derided name, but the term as a pejorative has developed based on how later versions of the character, stripped of his strength, were depicted on stage.^[16]

Claire Parfait, author of The Publishing History of Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1852-2002, opines that "the many alterations in retellings of the Uncle Tom story demonstrate an impulse to correct the retellers' perceptions of its flaws and "the capacity of the novel to irritate and rankle, even a century and a half after its first publication."^[4]

See also[link]

• Acting white
• House Negro
• Jump Jim Crow
• List of ethnic slurs
• Tom Shows
• Uncle Tom syndrome