Berlin, Congress of (1878) Harriet Beecher Stowe, her father, Lyman, and her brother Henry Ward The Beechers were prominent abolitionists and reformers respected homemakers Yet she continued, despite her own independent achievements, to proclaim male superiority at a time when other women were beginning to agitate for equality Harriet recalled stories of cruelty she heard as a child and developed a keen understanding of slavery and racism as a wife and mother in Cincinnati, on the border between free Ohio and slave Kentucky Moving back east in 1850 with her theology professor husband, Calvin Stowe, she became keenly aware of the uproar over the just-enacted Fugitive Slave Law Inspired by events and encouraged by family members, Harriet began writing The first installment of Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published in a tiny periodical on June 5, 1851 When the entire novel appeared the next year, millions of copies were sold The book was an international moral and literary triumph despite hate letters from Southerners, one possibly containing the severed ear of a slave Harriet wrote more best sellers in a long writing career; none would approach the impact of Uncle Tom Her younger brother, Henry Ward, first resisted a religious vocation, but having yielded to his father’s dearest wish, became a huge success After eight years ministering in malarial Indianapolis, where his cautious antislavery sermons sometimes put him in harm’s way, Henry was invited to lead a new Congregational church in Brooklyn, New York This “bully” pulpit was well paid, prestigious, and a place where the elo- 53 quent Henry could gain national attention Unlike Lyman, Henry was no Calvinist God’s love, not God’s implacable wrath, infused his sermons Soon, Henry was a celebrity, drawing huge Sunday crowds He counseled temperance, denounced America’s Mexican War, and took up collections to free slaves, although he long resisted abolitionism and remained patronizing toward African Americans’ potential for full citizenship After the Civil War, he supported women’s suffrage, despite opposition from his wife and his sister Catharine Preacher, writer, novelist, and journalist, Henry almost lost it all when Theodore Tilton, one of his closest associates, accused the minister of an adulterous affair with his wife, Elizabeth It was almost certainly true and may not have been Henry’s only affair He denied it steadfastly; Mrs Tilton kept changing her story The trial lasted almost six months, ending with the jury voting nine to three to acquit Tarnished, Henry resumed his career on the national lecture circuit, raking in high appearance fees In later years, he condemned labor unions but stood up for Native Americans and Jewish immigrants The offspring of Lyman Beecher, through both achievements and mistakes, played a major role in transforming their America Leading the way to more socially conscious religious practices, they also helped destroy slavery and elevated women’s roles, foreshadowing greater changes to come Further reading: Rugoff, Milton The Beechers: An American Family in the Nineteenth Century New York: Harper & Row, 1981; White, Barbara A The Beecher Sisters New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003 Marsha E Ackermann Berlin, Congress of (1878) The Congress of Berlin in July 1878 was held in response to nationalistic revolts against Ottoman Turks in the Balkans between 1875 and 1877 In 1875 the peasants of Bosnia had rebelled against their Turkish landlords, bringing fellow Slavic states such as Serbia and Montenegro to their aid Although the Turks defeated the Serbians and Montenegrins, the Balkan conflagration spread to Bulgaria, where the population rose in revolt against Turkish rule The atrocities perpetuated against Bulgarian insurgents—real, imagined, and exaggerated—had an impact on public opinion in Europe