Uncle Tom's Cabin (Boyer, 2008)
The publication in 1852 of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, arouse wide northern sympathy for fugitive slaves…Stowe targeted slavery itself more than merely the slave-catchers who served the institution. Much of her novel's powers derives from its view that even good intentions cannot prevail against so evil an institution...Three hundred thousand copies of Uncle Tom's Cabin were sold in 1852, and 1.2 million by the summer of 1853...The impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin cannot be precisely measured. Although the novel stirred deep feelings, it reflected the prevailing stereotypes of blacks far more than it overturned commonly held views.
Paul S. Boyer, et al., eds., The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, 6th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008), 402.