Arthur Tappan (May 22, 1786 – July 23, 1865) was an American businessman,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. He was the brother of Ohio

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Benjamin Tappan and abolitionist Lewis Tappan, and nephew of

Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...

theologian Rev. Dr.

David Tappan David Tappan (1752–1803) was an American theologian. He occupied the Hollis Chair at Harvard Divinity School until his death in 1803. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sci ...

. He was a great-grandfather of

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

Biography

Arthur was born in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an a ...

, to Benjamin Tappan (1747–1831) and Sarah Homes Tappan (1748–1826), the latter a great-niece of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

. They were devout

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

s. Tappan moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

at the age of 15. In 1807 he established a dry goods business in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

. After his death, Arthur was described thus by his friend and educational collaborator

Theodore Dwight Weld Theodore Dwight Weld (November 23, 1803 – February 3, 1895) was one of the architects of the American abolitionist movement during its formative years from 1830 to 1844, playing a role as writer, editor, speaker, and organizer. He is best known ...

, who called him one of humanity's "great benefactors": In 1826, a year after the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing ...

was completed, Arthur and his brother Lewis moved to New York City, the new national center of business and retail trade, where they established a

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

importing business. In 1827 the brothers founded the '' New York Journal of Commerce'' with

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...

. Arthur and Lewis Tappan were successful businessmen, but commerce was never their foremost interest. They viewed making money as less important than saving souls. They made the ''Journal of Commerce'' a publication free of "immoral advertisements." Arthur Tappan's summer home in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, was destroyed by a mob in 1831 (along with a black hotel and a black home) after his support for a surprisingly unpopular ( New Haven Excitement) proposal of a college for African Americans in that city. (See Simeon Jocelyn.) Both men suffered in the anti-abolitionist riots of 1834, in which mobs attacked their property. Arthur Tappan was one of two signatories who issued a disclaimer on behalf of the

American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS; 1833–1870) was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, had become a prominent abolitionist and was a key leader of this socie ...

, of which he was president, in the aftermath of the riots, emphasising its dedication to abolishing slavery within the existing laws of the United States. "In the great commercial crisis of 1837 he suffered immense losses; and not long after turned his attention to other and more retired occupations, by which he obtained a comfortable subsistence for his family, and the ability still to contribute, though on a greatly diminished scale, throughout his protracted life." Their philanthropic efforts crippled and pledges not met, the Tappans were forced to close their silk-importing business, and almost their paper, but the brothers persevered. In the 1840s, they founded another lucrative business enterprise when they opened the first commercial credit-rating service, the Mercantile Agency, a predecessor of Dun and Bradstreet.

Philanthropic and abolitionist activity

The Tappan brothers made their mark in commerce and in

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

. Throughout their careers, the Tappans devoted time and money to philanthropic causes as diverse as

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture * Temperance (group), Canadian dan ...

, the abolition of slavery, and their support of new colleges in what was then the west of the country: successively, the

Oneida Institute The Oneida Institute was a short-lived (1827–1843) but highly influential school that was a national leader in the emerging abolitionist movement. It was the most radical school in the country, the first at which black men were just as welcome ...

Lane Theological Seminary Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its camp ...

, the

Lane Rebels Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its campu ...

at Cumminsville, Ohio, and Oberlin Collegiate Institute. Their beliefs about observing

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as ...

extended to campaigns against providing stagecoach service and mail deliveries on Sundays. In 1833, while a principal owner of the ''Journal of Commerce'', Arthur Tappan allied with

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he fo ...

and co-founded the

. Arthur served as its first president, and there was in 1835 a reward of $20,000 () for his capture and delivery to New Orleans. He resigned in 1840 because of his opposition to the society's new support of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. Their early support for

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

, a center of abolitionist activity, included $10,000 to build Tappan Hall. Oberlin's green Tappan Square now occupies the site. Continuing their support for abolition, Arthur and his brother founded the

American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society The American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society split off from the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1840 over a number of issues, including the increasing influence of anarchism (and an unwillingness to participate in the government's political proce ...

in 1840 and the

American Missionary Association The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...

in 1846. After the

Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most cont ...

was passed, Tappan refused to comply with the new law and donated money to the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. The brothers' positions on the slavery issue were not universally popular. In early July 1834, Lewis Tappan's New York home was sacked by a mob, who threw his furniture into the street and burned it.‘’The Times’’, Friday August 08, 1834; pg. 2; Issue 15551; col D : ‘Dr. Cox, whose church and house were gutted, and Mr. TAPPAN, whose house and store were entered and robbed, seem to have been the chief sufferers by these riots.’ PS 46 FDB Harlem jeh

The Tappans and the ''Journal of Commerce'' attracted bitter criticism for their campaign to free the Africans who had taken over the slave ship '' Amistad'' in 1839. James Gordon Bennett, Sr.’s rival '' New York Morning Herald'' denounced “"the humbug doctrines of the abolitionists and the miserable fanatics who propagate them," particularly Lewis Tappan and the ''Journal of Commerce''. Arthur Tappan died in 1865, Lewis in 1873. Both men lived long enough to see the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, Civil War. The Proclamation c ...

and the 13th Amendment eliminate slavery in the United States, granting freedom to millions of African Americans. Arthur is buried in the Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven.

Writings

* *

Notes

External links

Biography of Tappan from Spartacus EducationalThe Liberator Files
Items concerning Arthur Tappan from Horace Seldon's collection and summary of research of William Lloyd Garrison's ''The Liberator'' original copies at the Boston Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tappan, Arthur 1786 births 1865 deaths American abolitionists People from Northampton, Massachusetts 19th-century American businesspeople American Anti-Slavery Society American temperance activists 19th-century American philanthropists

Biography

Philanthropic and abolitionist activity

Writings

See also

Notes

External links