What causal relationship exists between the Fugitive Slave Act and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”?

What is the role of institutions in society - do they perform positive functions, or simply work in the interests of the powerful and against the powerless? (a related question here is why do our life chances vary by class, gender and ethnicity)

How did the people of latin america come to speak the language of spanish

Anthropologist ralph linton said, "the last thing a fish would ever notice would be water." what does this imply about culture