American Memory Project

Presenters and Creators:

Angela Brady

and

Abdelilah Mouayani

Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

"The man who does not read books has no advantage over the man that

can not read them.” MT

Key Facts about the novel

• Written in Hartford, Connecticut and Elmira, New York from 1876-1883

• First publication: 1884• Publisher: Charles L. Webster & Co.

• Time: Before the Civil War, 1835-1845• Setting: The Mississippi River town of St.

Petersburg, Missouri; various locations along the river through Arkansas

Text and Context

•Themes · Racism and slavery; intellectual and moral education; the hypocrisy of “civilized” society

Slavery

• Prior to the Civil War, America could be seen as two territories with their own cultures.  The North was thriving with industry, immigrants, and various commerce.  The South, on the other hand, was involved with agriculture, especially growing cotton. 

• In 1800, there were a total of 893,602 slaves in the United States: only 36,505 in the North and by 1860, there were 3,953,760 slaves in the Southern states. 

• http://www.nwctc.commnet.edu/fox/melville/slavery.htm

The map above show the shifting balance of power between the "free" states and the "slave" states in the United States from 1820 to 1860.

Website

• To inform and provide links to text and context relating to Mark Twain and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

• To be used as a teaching aid

• Website