{"product_id":"beechers-stowes-and-yankee-strangers-the-transformation-of-florida","title":"Beechers, Stowes, and Yankee Strangers","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe story of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Charles Beecher in Reconstruction Florida\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eModern Florida—a world of tourists, retirees from the  North, and novel agricultural crops—began among a group of Yankee  reformers at the end of the Civil War, including Harriet Beecher Stowe,  author of \u003cem\u003eUncle Tom’s Cabin\u003c\/em\u003e, and her brother, Charles, who  lived in Florida between 1867 and 1885. This book tells the story of the  group—and their designs for a postwar Florida—with the action,  atmosphere, and insight of a good novel.\u003cp\u003eArriving in  Florida nearly two decades ahead of Henry Flagler, the Beechers found a  wild and inaccessible state with small remnants of a slave economy. As  part of the work of Reconstruction, they dreamed of making the state a  haven for freedmen and progressive northerners unhampered by the rest of  the South’s racial divisions. Settling near Tallahassee and  Jacksonville, they worked with Florida’s First Lady, Chloe Merrick Reed,  to better education, religion, economics, social and racial  relationships, and politics, and they were instrumental in the  transformation of Jacksonville from a small seaport to a vibrant city.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDespite  continuing interest in Harriet Beecher Stowe, her years in Florida have  remained obscure; even less is known about Charles Beecher during this  period. Using fresh materials that have never been recorded by the Stowe  Center (a major repository of Stowe’s works), John and Sarah Foster  fill an important gap in the lives of these celebrated reformers and  shed new light on Florida’s history during Reconstruction and the Gilded  Age.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University Press of Florida","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49810637324632,"sku":"9780813080901","price":23.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780813080901_f7b3f8ca-f73b-45ec-b253-a586425198d0.jpg?v=1778018439","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/beechers-stowes-and-yankee-strangers-the-transformation-of-florida","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}