The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center preserves and interprets Stowe's Hartford home and the Center's historic collections, promotes vibrant discussion of her life and work, and inspires commitment to social justice and positive change. Stowe's best known novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), changed how Americans viewed the institution of slavery. It resonates with an international audience as a masterful literary work and protest novel. Uncle Tom's Cabin demanded that the United States deliver on the promise of freedom and equality, galvanized the abolition movement and contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War. The book was a runaway best-seller, selling 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week; 300,000 in the first year; and in Great Britain, 1.5 million copies in one year. Discover how Stowe's story can inspire YOU to action.