Nat Turner was a slave who saw "visions" telling him to rebel, which he interpreted as a message from God. He was a very religious man, believing that he was a prophet. In his revolt, he led six others in killing at least 55 whites, including women and children. In the aftermath, Turner hid, but he was later found and executed.

While Turner and Uncle Tom are both religious figures, their methods differ greatly. After Turner's rebellion, many Southerners realized religion could be used to justify both slavery and its abolishment. Stowe did so in a peaceful way in Uncle Tom's Cabin, where Uncle Tom could be passive, yet convert people to Christianity realize the horrors of slavery. In the novel, Stowe also claims that a reformed Church would never be for slavery. To show the contrast between Turner and Uncle Tom, some editions of Uncle Tom's Cabin include a copy of Turner's Confessions (1831) in their appendixes.

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William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator was a direct and controversial abolitionist newspaper. When Uncle Tom's Cabin released, Garrison published many articles about it in his paper, including a review. He praised the book for having "rare descriptive powers" and thought Uncle Tom was relatable and universal, exemplifying Christian non-resistance. However, he continues to criticize the novel, saying that Stowe creates a double standard on religion that should not exist. He claims that making it to heaven should be the same for all, and if Stowe's take on religion was the same for whites and blacks, whites should practice non-resistance as well. At the end of the review, Garrison disapproves of African colonization and sending Eliza's family to Liberia.

In 1853, Garrison wrote a letter to Stowe, reiterating the points in his review and replying to her comments on The Liberator. The letter shows the differences between Stowe and Garrison; Stowe believed The Liberator was truthful and independent but too provocative, while Garrison was blunt about his points.

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On May 27, 1852, the American Anti-Slavery Society met to discuss Uncle Tom's Cabin, as reported in Frederick Douglass' Paper. The members felt that it "proved the depth and breadth of the anti-slavery feeling" in America, wanting to buy copies of the book to send to government officials and raise support for their cause. Its newspaper, the National Anti-Slavery Standard, also published articles on the success of Uncle Tom's Cabin around the world.

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The Amistad was carrying a group of 53 captured slaves from Sierra Leon back to Cuba, where they would be sold. However, a slave known as Joseph Cinqué led a revolt, killing many crew members and seizing control of the ship. The ship landed in America, where the slaves were ultimately returned to Africa after a long court case. Like Uncle Tom's Cabin, the court case raised public attention on slavery, and many people felt that slaves should be treated as human beings rather than property. Stowe and other abolitionists may not have approved of the slaves' methods of fighting back, but the presence of the Amistad case rallied the abolitionist cause throughout the country.

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Frederick Douglass' anti-slavery newspaper, the North Star, later known as Frederick Douglass' Paper, also extensively covered Uncle Tom's Cabin when it released. A review of the novel in the paper praised the sharp contrast between St. Clare and Legree, and the author liked the depiction of Uncle Tom. Like Garrison, he disapproved of colonization of Africa, as it encouraged the notion of Africa being composed of only blacks and demonstrates how the book also contains some prejudice. The paper also reported on the success of the novel and Harriet Beecher Stowe around the world.

A letter from Stowe to Douglass reveals that Stowe has read Douglass' Paper, but she attempts to convince him to change his views on religion and African colonization and asks him to share more slave narratives with her. Furthermore, a letter from Douglass to Stowe asks her for help in educating freed slaves to better the country. While Douglass and Stowe have some differences in opinion, both recognize the power of writing to support the abolitionist cause and spread ideas.

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Harriet Tubman was a former slave who escaped, becoming an abolitionist and working as a spy for the Union during the Civil War. She is best known for being a "conductor" on the network known as the Underground Railroad, which helped slaves escape to Canada. While Tubman's direct involvement in the abolitionist movement differed from Stowe's method of writing literature, both significantly raised awareness of the horrors of slavery and were affected by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Stowe was also briefly involved in the Underground railroad when she lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, harboring escaped slaves in her home.

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