Reactions: The North and the South

While Harriet Beecher Stowe was praised by many abolitionists when Uncle Tom's Cabin released, it was also a source of debate. The international attention on American slavery gave everyone an opinion, and many disliked the novel's approach.

Moderate anti-slavery advocates liked how the book took a "human" approach, focusing on the effects of slavery on families; in turn, people who were neutral to slavery or in other countries could understand or support the abolitionist cause. However, many liberal abolitionists, including William Lloyd Garrison, thought the book was not forceful in its message and felt Uncle Tom should not have acted so passively. They also disapproved of Stowe's ironic support of African colonization.

In the south, people were outraged, claiming that the Bible supported slavery and Stowe's depiction of Southern slavery was unrealistic. Some states banned the book, and others were imprisoned for owning a copy. Anti-Tom novels, such as Aunt Phillis's Cabin by Mary Eastman, became popular. They satirized and responded to the arguments made in Uncle Tom's Cabin, trying the show the benefits of slavery to society and how Stowe's novel was an exaggerated portrayal of slavery. In response, Stowe wrote A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin, where she defended the realism of the original book by citing narratives that were inspirations for characters and events.

In the end, the chain of reactions from Uncle Tom's Cabin would be one of the many catalysts for the Civil War and make it a part of American history. The book is still internationally recognized and read in literature courses for its significance and to show the racial issues of the time.

To read reviews of Uncle Tom's Cabin from primary sources, click here.