A Reply to 'The Affectionate and Christian Address of Many Thousands of Women of Great Britain and Ireland'

What it is

This is a written reply by Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in London in 1863, responding to an earlier address signed by many British and Irish women.

In it, Stowe speaks "in behalf of many thousands of American women," defending the Union cause and the Emancipation Proclamation against British sympathy for the Confederacy.

Why it matters

The piece shows how the American Civil War became an international argument, with women on both sides of the Atlantic debating slavery and the war. Stowe used her fame as the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin to argue for the Union and against British support for the South.

Look closer

• Why would Stowe address British women specifically rather than politicians?
• What does the list of noblewomen who signed the original address suggest about who had influence in this debate?
• How might international opinion have affected the course of the Civil War?