Title:  A Review of Uncle Tom’s Cabin or, An Essay on Slavery

Author:  A. Woodward

Release Date:  April 24, 2005 [EBook #15698]

Language:  English

Character set encoding:  ASCII

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A REVIEW OF UNCLE TOM’S CABIN;

Or,

An essay on slavery,

BY A. WOODWARD, M.D.

CINCINNATI:  PUBLISHED BY APPLEGATE & CO.

1853

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853,
by A. Woodward, M.D.,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States,
for the District of Indiana.

PREFACE.

For the last two years a “still small voice” has constantly whispered to me, in private and in public, at home and abroad, saying, write! It was in vain that I strove to quiet this inward monitor by pleading incapacity, poverty, want of time, &c.; he heeded not my excuses.  I inquired what would become of my dependant family, should I relinquish the practice of my profession and engage in other pursuits?  He answered, “Put thy trust in the Lord, and write!” I yielded not to his monitions, but continued with unabated ardor the practice of my profession, until the latter part of autumn, 1852, when I was suddenly prostrated by disease, and forced to desist from the practice of medicine.  I then commenced as soon as I was able, the preparation of a work, which I contemplated bringing before the public at some future period, provided I should live.  In accordance with the plan of the proposed work, an essay on African slavery was to close the volume.  After I had finished about a hundred pages manuscript, in order, the question of African slavery in the United States suddenly thrust itself upon my mind with such force, that I found it somewhat difficult to investigate any other subject.  My mind at the time was enervated by disease, and by no means well disciplined.  Hence I could not control it.  For this reason, I at once concluded to draw up a skeleton or outline of my essay on slavery; after which I contemplated resuming my work in regular order.  It was about this time that my health rapidly declined, and I became so feeble that I could not sit at my table more than one or two hours in twenty-four.  In this condition, by a slow process, I finished from chapter i, to the close of chapter xiii.  The Introduction was written afterwards, to supply some obvious defects in that portion of the work alluded to.