Antifanaticism: A Tale of the South
Encyclopedia
Antifanaticism: A Tale of the South is an 1853
plantation fiction
novel by Martha Haines Butt.
genre that appeared in reaction to the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
, which had been criticised as inaccurately depicting slaveholders and slavery in general.
Authors from the Southern United States
sought to rectify this through their own series of pro-slavery novels - examples of these include: Aunt Phillis's Cabin
(1852), Uncle Robin, in His Cabin in Virginia, and Tom Without One in Boston
(1853) and The Planter's Northern Bride
(1854).
Butt explains in her novel that Antifanaticism is her first novel, and invites Stowe herself to the south to see that the events of the book, though fictional, are based on reality rather than fiction, which she accuses Stowe of doing in the creation of Uncle Tom's Cabin
.
with Anti- (from the Greek αντί, meaning "against") to mean "against Fanaticism" (i.e. Abolitionism
).
, and depicts a group of white plantation owners who put charity towards their black slaves before the harvesting and selling of the cotton on their own plantations, as well as successfully converting several troublesome abolitionists
into friendly socialites through a process referred to throughout the novel as "Southern hospitality".
by Mary Henderson Eastman
in the previous year, and would go on to publish Mr. Frank, the Underground Mail-Agent
alongside Antifanaticism.
1853 in literature
The year 1853 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*Charles Dickens writes Bleak House, the first English novel to feature a detective.*William Wells Brown becomes the first African American novelist to be published.-New books:...
plantation fiction
Anti-Tom literature
Anti-Tom literature refers to the 19th century pro-slavery novels and other literary works written in response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Also called Plantation literature, these writings were generally written by authors from the Southern United States...
novel by Martha Haines Butt.
Overview
Antifanaticism is one of several examples of the plantation literatureAnti-Tom literature
Anti-Tom literature refers to the 19th century pro-slavery novels and other literary works written in response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Also called Plantation literature, these writings were generally written by authors from the Southern United States...
genre that appeared in reaction to the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
, which had been criticised as inaccurately depicting slaveholders and slavery in general.
Authors from the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
sought to rectify this through their own series of pro-slavery novels - examples of these include: Aunt Phillis's Cabin
Aunt Phillis's Cabin
Aunt Phillis's Cabin; or, Southern Life As It Is by Mary Henderson Eastman is a plantation fiction novel, and is perhaps the most read anti-Tom novel in American literature. It was published by Lippincott, Grambo & Co of Philadelphia in 1852 as a response to Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, published...
(1852), Uncle Robin, in His Cabin in Virginia, and Tom Without One in Boston
Uncle Robin, in His Cabin in Virginia, and Tom Without One in Boston
Uncle Robin, in His Cabin in Virginia, and Tom Without One in Boston is an 1853 novel written by J.W. Page and released by J. W...
(1853) and The Planter's Northern Bride
The Planter's Northern Bride
The Planter's Northern Bride is an 1854 novel written by Caroline Lee Hentz, in response to the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852.- Overview :...
(1854).
Butt explains in her novel that Antifanaticism is her first novel, and invites Stowe herself to the south to see that the events of the book, though fictional, are based on reality rather than fiction, which she accuses Stowe of doing in the creation of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
.
Title
The term Antifanaticism in the book's title is a neologism coined by Butt, appending the term FanaticismFanaticism
Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause or in some cases sports, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby...
with Anti- (from the Greek αντί, meaning "against") to mean "against Fanaticism" (i.e. Abolitionism
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
).
Plot
The story takes place somewhere in VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and depicts a group of white plantation owners who put charity towards their black slaves before the harvesting and selling of the cotton on their own plantations, as well as successfully converting several troublesome abolitionists
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
into friendly socialites through a process referred to throughout the novel as "Southern hospitality".
Publication history
Antifanaticism was first published in 1853 by Lippincott, Grambo & Co, who had previously published the anti-Tom novel Aunt Phillis's CabinAunt Phillis's Cabin
Aunt Phillis's Cabin; or, Southern Life As It Is by Mary Henderson Eastman is a plantation fiction novel, and is perhaps the most read anti-Tom novel in American literature. It was published by Lippincott, Grambo & Co of Philadelphia in 1852 as a response to Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, published...
by Mary Henderson Eastman
Seth and Mary Eastman
Seth Eastman and his second wife Mary Henderson Eastman were instrumental in recording Native American life. Eastman was an artist and West Point graduate who served in the US Army, first as a mapmaker and illustrator. He had two tours at Fort Snelling, Minnesota Territory; during the second,...
in the previous year, and would go on to publish Mr. Frank, the Underground Mail-Agent
Mr. Frank, the Underground Mail-Agent
Mr. Frank, the Underground Mail-Agent is an 1853 parody novel written by an unknown author credited as "Vidi".- Background :Mr. Frank is an example of the pro-slavery plantation literature genre that emerged from the Southern United States in response to the abolitionist novel Uncle Tom's Cabin in...
alongside Antifanaticism.