What was the South's reaction to "Uncle Tom's Cabin"?

Question

i know the south resented the book because it was an unfair and somewhat exaggerated, (in their opinion), portrayal of the way they treated their slaves, but did they take any action against the book itself? how did the south respond to harriet beecher stowe's book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin"?

Answer 1

That is not really true Stowe was not putting the southern plantation owners down for slavery. She did not blame them for the brutal slavery system she blamed the northerners at the end of the book this is what she wrote word for word. This is a quote from the end of Uncle Tom's Cabin. She wrote this to the Southeners

"The author hopes she has done justice to that nobility, generosity, and humanity which in many cases characterizes individuals at the South. Such instances save us from utter despair of our kind. To you, generous, noble-minded men and women of the South – you, whose virtue, and magnanimity, and purity of character are the greater for the severer trial it has encountered – to you is her appeal."

This was to the Northeners

"Do you say that the people of the free states have nothing to do with it? The people of the free states have defended, encouraged, and participated; and are more guilty for it, before God, than the South. There are multitudes of slaves temporarily owned, and sold again, by merchants in Northern cities; and shall the whole guilt or obloquy of slavery fall only on the South? Northern men, Northern mothers, Northern Christians, have something more to do than denounce their brethren at the South; they have to look to the evil among themselves."

I am sure that there was a reaction however you have to keep in mind this was 10 years before the Civil War and it was just a woman writing a book. Nobody paid to much attention to women back then.

In 1862 i think was the date Abraham Lincoln met with her and said "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this Great War!"

Hope that helps some.

Answer 2

there was a rebuttal to Uncle Tom's Cabin. however if one thinks logically mistreatment meant loss of productivity. if a person had up to a thousand dollars in a slave then they would treat the slave very well to get as much back on their investment as they could.