A Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, An Essay on Slavery

"A Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, An Essay on Slavery" by A. Woodward, is a critical response to abolitionist viewpoints on slavery in the 1800s. The author responds to Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," expressing worries about how anti-slavery books impact public opinion and fuel conflict between theNorth and South. He thinks these books paint an inaccurate portrait of Southerners. While admitting slavery has problems, Woodward claims that these issues are overblown by writers from the North. He believes that a more balanced viewpoint is needed, one that considers the lives of slaves and slaveholders. In doing so, Woodward is motivated to carefully examine abolitionist sentiments and provide a defense of Southern society, especially as it is misrepresented in literature like Stowe's novel.