Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Chapter 12 summary
Chapter 12 of 45 · 27 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 12, Mr. Haley buys enslaved people at auction and transports them downriver, separating Hagar from Albert and selling Lucy’s baby without her knowledge. Lucy dies in the river, Tom witnesses the suffering, and the narrator challenges people who condemn traders while supporting the system that sustains their business.
What happens
- Haley takes Tom to Washington, confines him in jail, and attends an auction to expand his group of enslaved people.
- Haley buys Albert and two men, refuses to buy Hagar, and chains his purchases despite the mother’s desperate pleas.
- Aboard the La Belle Riviere, passengers debate slavery, and John briefly reunites with his grieving wife.
- Lucy discovers that John Fosdick sells her and her baby rather than sending her to work near her husband.
- Haley secretly sells Lucy’s sleeping baby for forty-five dollars, and Tom tries unsuccessfully to comfort her.
- Lucy disappears into the river at night; Haley records a financial loss, and the narrator condemns society’s support for slave trading.
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In this chapter
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Why does Lucy leave her sleeping baby among the boxes at Louisville?
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