Harriet Beecher Stowe, The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1853)
Although Stowe tried to present a fairly sympathetic picture of slaveholders in her novel, Southerners severely criticized her work as misrepresenting and exaggerating slave conditions. In order to defend the authenticity of her novel, which Stowe contended was a “mosaic of facts,” she collected extensive real-life accounts that supported the experiences and qualities depicted by each of her major characters. In the Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Stowe presents personal observations, testimonial statements, and legal cases that become an even stronger indictment of slavery.
Although Stowe tried to present a fairly sympathetic picture of slaveholders in her novel, Southerners severely criticized her work as misrepresenting and exaggerating slave conditions. In order to defend the authenticity of her novel, which Stowe contended was a “mosaic of facts,” she collected extensive real-life accounts that supported the experiences and qualities depicted by each of her major characters. In the <em>Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin</em>, Stowe presents personal observations, testimonial statements, and legal cases that become an even stronger indictment of slavery.