The formative anti-slavery novel published in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly had a profound impact on Americans' public opinion and is widely credited with fueling the abolitionist movement. Its publication materially contributed to the tensions leading up to the American Civil War.
Featured in our collection of 25 Great American Novels. Readers interested in Uncle Tom's Cabin might also appreciate Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave, an 1853 memoir that is the basis of Steve McQueen's 2013 blockbuster movie "12 Years a Slave." Taken together, Uncle Tom's Cabin and Twelve Years a Slave altered the course of United States history. Stowe's book was adapted for children, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Young Folks' Edition, published in 1913.
Find out more at American History, the African American Library, and our collection of Civil War Stories for more literary context.
Return to the Harriet Beecher Stowe library.