did much to inflame public opinion

[GoodTaste]

Uncle Tom's Cabin did much to inflame public opinion in both the North and the South in the last years before the Civil War. When Abraham Lincoln was introduced to Stowe once in the White House, he reportedly said to her:"So you are the little lady that has brought this great war." At the time, Stowe was equally well known as one of the most successful American writers of sentimental novels.
Source: Alan Brinkley The Unfinished Nation (page 326)

The sentiment of the word "inflame" here, in combining Lincoln's comment, sounds a bit negative to me. Does the author Alan Brinkley mean it is a bit negative by using the word？

 

[Tarheel]

No. When the writer says it inflamed public opinion he means it heated things up. (Pun intended.) It stirred up public opinion .

 

[GoodTaste]

No. When the writer says it inflamed public opinion he means it heated things up. (Pun intended.) It stirred up public opinion .

So it is neutral in sentiment?

 

[Tarheel]

Yes. It stirred up people of different points of view. On both sides they become more vocal and more adamant.