Abolitionism in America

horizontal rule
Lewis Tappan, ca. 1853. Engraving.
horizontal rule

Lewis Tappan
horizontal rule
Lewis Tappan (1788-1873), a wealthy merchant from a strong Calvinist family, is best known for his role in organizing the defense of Joseph Cinque in the Amistad trial. Tappan also funded anti-slavery journals and helped to form the American Anti-Slavery Society, which he later abandoned because of his disapproval of women’s involvement in the society. Tappan and other disaffected former members of the American Anti-Slavery Society formed the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, which employed political abolitionism. After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, Tappan supported the Underground Railroad, and he fought for black civil rights in the North. His abolitionist deeds were often met with hostility, which extended as far as the destruction of a church built by Tappan and his brother.

Continue the tour

horizontal rule

 

Cornell University Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Cornell University Library