Why was Uncle Tom's Cabin important to those wishing to ban slavery?

Answer 1

Even though Uncle Tom's Cabin was a work of fiction, it brought home to the people of the North a dramatized look at what the institution of slavery was like. By creating empathy for the African American slaves, it served to play on the emotions of the reading audience, and by presenting a worst-case scenario, predisposed many readers to abolition. Within a year of its publication, the membership of many abolitionist organizations increased exponentially. Several unauthorized stage adaptations played not only in the major cities of the eastern seaboard, and the major river cities up and down the Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi Rivers, but were also performed in tent shows and on showboats throughout the country, spreading the popularity of the story and characters, and disseminating the abolitionist theme, even in the southern states. When the author Harriet Beecher Stowe was introduced to Lincoln at a White House function, Lincoln remarked, "So, you're the little lady who wrote the book that started this big war."

Answer 2

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" was important to those wishing to ban slavery because it exposed the cruelty and inhumanity of the institution. The novel helped to raise awareness and rally public support against slavery, ultimately contributing to the abolitionist movement in the United States. Its emotional portrayal of the hardships faced by enslaved individuals helped to humanize them in the eyes of many readers.

Answer 3

It was a best-selling novel which recruited many people to the cause of Abolitionism, and encouraged the use of the Underground Railroad, the safe-house system that smuggled slaves into Canada.