This book was published to document the veracity of the depiction of slavery in Stowe's anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. It also provides insights into Stowe's own views on slavery. After the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Southerners accused Stowe of misrepresenting slavery. In order to show that she had neither lied about slavery nor exaggerated the plight of enslaved people, she compiled A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin. The book was subtitled "Presenting the Original Facts and Documents upon Which the Story Is Founded, Together with Corroborative Statements Verifying the Truth of the Work".