<P> Uncle Tom 's Cabin first appeared as a 40 - week serial in The National Era , an abolitionist periodical , starting with the June 5 , 1851 , issue . It was originally intended as a shorter narrative that would run for only a few weeks . Stowe expanded the story significantly , however , and it was instantly popular , such that several protests were sent to the Era office when she missed an issue . Because of the story 's popularity , the publisher John P. Jewett contacted Stowe about turning the serial into a book . While Stowe questioned if anyone would read Uncle Tom 's Cabin in book form , she eventually consented to the request . </P>
where was uncle tom 's cabin first published
The National Era , an abolitionist periodical