Charles Jacobs Peterson (1818–1887) was a prominent American publisher, editor, and writer who played a significant role in the development of nineteenth-century American periodical literature. Born into a family of established publishers—which included his cousins Robert Evans Peterson and Henry Peterson—he quickly found his footing in the literary world. Over the course of his career, Peterson worked as an editor at the prestigious Graham's Magazine and became an owner and partner of The Saturday Evening Post, helping to shape the reading habits of the American public.
Peterson's most enduring legacy in publishing was the creation of Peterson's Magazine, a highly popular women's literary journal that he founded and managed. Beyond his editorial achievements, Peterson was a prolific author who wrote both fiction and non-fiction. He published several historical books under his own name, but he is also known for his contribution to the "Anti-Tom" literary phenomenon. Under the pseudonym J. Thornton Randolph, he wrote the novel The Cabin and Parlor; or, Slaves and Masters, a work that attempted to counter the themes of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
