Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

When Harriet Beecher Stowe published "Uncle Tom’s Cabin" in 1852, it sent a shockwave through the country. It depicted the brutality of slavery and was the cause of intense controversy between those who wanted to keep slavery and those who would abolish it. In the first year of publication, the book sold 300,000 copies in the United States. Later, the book was turned into a stage production and performed for audiences throughout the North. The work was also translated into many different languages. Some claimed that Stowe's writing painted a picture of slavery that was nothing short of fiction. Due to these allegations, Stowe published "The Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin." This book gathered primary documents proving the account that she created to be accurate. Among some of the sources were narratives written by Frederick Douglass and Josiah Henderson. When President Lincoln met her at the White House, he reportedly said, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.”