Stories written by slaves like Harriet Jacobs were trying to refute this absurd claim and describe how horrible and inhumane slaves were treated towards white Americans. Jacob's account was, in fact, published the same year the American Civil War began. Considering that slavery was a central issue in the war and that the myth about the happiness of slaves spread, it was very noble of him to also include the few accounts of southern whites who were compassionate and humane. She could easily have omitted these rare examples of human kindness in her effort to further promote the freedom of all African Americans, but Jacobs maintained her full integrity and was truthful in her account, unlike what she had done previously.