A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin

The great object of the author in writing has been to bring this subject of slavery as a moral and religious question before the minds of all those who profess to be followers of Christ in this country. A minute history has been given of the action of the various denominations on this subject. The writer has aimed as far as possible to say what is true and only that without regard to the effect which it may have upon any person or party. She hopes that what she has said will be examined without bitterness—in that serious and earnest spirit which is appropriate for the examination of so very serious a subject.Her book revolves around the story of Tom a slave who suffers greatly but is sustained by his Christian faith. Plot points in the book include families being separated by slavery and slaves being hunted and killed. In a pre-war climate where those who argued for the abolition of slavery (many from the North) clashed with those who said slavery was an essential and humane institution (many from the South) her book became massively popular. But its very popularity in a book that forced whites to empathize with enslaved black characters prompted some to call its story into question.