Barnes & Noble Digital Library

This 1853 non-fiction companion to the novel Uncle Tom''s Cabin (1852) provides documentary evidence supporting the novel''s realistic depiction of slavery as a cruel and evil institution.  The subtitle says it all:  "Presenting the Original Facts and Documents upon Which the Story Is Founded, Together with Corroborative Statements Verifying the Truth of the Work." Like the novel itself, the Key generated a storm of controversy in the North and South alike.