What was the significance of Uncle Tom's Cabin?

Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written
by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852.  The publication of the book, and the response to it,
are credited with helping to bring about the Civil War.  In fact, Abraham Lincoln is
supposed to have called Stowe the "little woman who wrote the book that made this great
war."  Whether he actually said it or not, this sums up the way the book is
seen.

Stowe's book made many Northerners feel very angry
about slavery and the South.  It made them feel a great deal of sympathy for the plight
of slaves such as the ones portrayed in the book.  Because of this, it became a huge
bestseller.  This wave of support made people in the South angry and distrustful.  These
reactions to the book helped to drive the North and South farther apart, making the
Civil War more likely to occur.