[Illustration: HARRIET BEECHER STOWE.[189]] =422. Two Important Books.=—In the course of this agitation, public opinion was greatly affected by the appearance of two very important books on the subject of slavery. Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_ appeared in 1852. Its object was to represent the horrors of slavery, and it proved to be one of the most influential novels ever published. Though it was intended to represent slavery in the strongest possible light, the picture was somewhat relieved for the people of the South by the fact that the worst characters in the book were “renegades” from the North. Over three hundred thousand copies were sold within a year of its publication, and in the course of five years it had powerfully inflamed the feelings of all the Northern people. In 1857, appeared H. R. Helper’s _Impending Crisis of the South_. It was written by a representative of the “poor white” class of North Carolina, whose purpose was to arraign slavery from the point of view of the Southern free white laborer. The author described Southern society, and showed how slavery had reduced the poorer white people to a condition of abject misery. The book did much to arouse the fears of the Southern slave owners. KANSAS AND UTAH. =423. Buchanan’s Weakness.=—Meanwhile, President Buchanan had been showing in many ways that he did not realize the gravity of the situation. He was an old man and inclined to rely on Democratic leaders of strong pro-slavery proclivities. Thus, although himself a Northerner, he had little support from his own section. His Cabinet contained four Southerners, while the Secretary of State, General Cass, was a sympathizer with the Southern attitude toward the slavery question. Eventually this Cabinet was broken up and a stronger one obtained (§ 441), but not before many of the departments, especially those of War and of the Treasury, were reduced to a state of great disorganization. Indeed, so badly were the finances of the nation managed, that treasury notes had to be issued in order that national insolvency might be avoided. Yet more than once President Buchanan proposed to Congress that Cuba should be purchased, and recommended other rash legislation, which, if carried out, would probably have led to a war with Mexico and the states of Central America. [Illustration: JAMES BUCHANAN.]