The author of Uncle Tom's Cabin is Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Obviously the poor had no money, so the bosses of say New York would pay clueless immigrants to vote for them in elections to keep them in high city offices and to continue holding power.
The animal that changed their ways was the horse.
To my mind the answer is Karma. according to those who believe in karma, this has implications beyond this life. Bad actions in a previous life can follow a person into their next life and cause bad effects. In other words, our past actions affect us, either positively or negatively, and our present actions will affect us in the future alike.
Buddhism is the religion which strongly believe in this force created by a person's actions called karma.