Lewis Tappan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lewis Tappan
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Lewis Tappan
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| Born | May 23, 1788 Northampton, Massachusetts |
| Died | June 21, 1873 Brooklyn Heights, New York |
| Profession | Mercantile |
Lewis Tappan (born May 23, 1788 – died June 21, 1873) was an important New York leader who worked to end slavery. He is famous for helping the enslaved Africans who were captured on the ship Amistad.
Tappan also helped start the American Missionary Association in 1846. This group created over 100 anti-slavery Congregational churches in the Midwest. After the American Civil War, they also built many schools and colleges to help freed people get an education.
When the Amistad ship arrived in Connecticut, Tappan quickly got involved. He made sure the captive Africans had excellent lawyers. This led to their freedom after their case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. With his brother Arthur Tappan, Lewis not only got legal help for the Africans but also raised public support and money. He even organized their trip home to Africa.
Contents
Lewis Tappan's Early Life
Family and Business Beginnings
Lewis Tappan was the brother of Senator Benjamin Tappan and fellow abolitionist Arthur Tappan. His parents, Benjamin and Sarah Tappan, were strict Congregationalists.
When Lewis was old enough, he worked in his father's dry goods store, which sold fabrics and other items. At age sixteen, he started working in other businesses. In 1841, he started The Mercantile Agency in New York City. This company was a very early version of today's credit-reporting services, like Dun & Bradstreet.
Becoming an Abolitionist
Lewis's brother Arthur encouraged him to read about William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was a leader in the fight to end slavery in Great Britain. After reading his story, Lewis Tappan began his own fight against slavery in the United States. He became well known for his efforts to free the Africans from the Spanish ship Amistad.
Fighting for Freedom
Joining the Anti-Slavery Movement
Lewis Tappan first supported the American Colonization Society (ACS). This group wanted to send freed Black people from the United States back to Africa. They believed Africa was their homeland, even if they were born in America.
However, Tappan became frustrated with how slowly the ACS was working. He and other men, including his brother Arthur, Theodore Dwight Weld, Gerrit Smith, and James Gillespie Birney, left the ACS. They joined a group called the "immediatists," who wanted to end slavery in the United States right away. In December 1833, Lewis Tappan joined activists like William Lloyd Garrison to form the American Anti-Slavery Society.
The Tappan brothers were very religious and had strong moral beliefs. They even had some extreme views within the abolitionist movement. Lewis Tappan believed that people of different races marrying each other was the best way to solve racial problems in the long run. He imagined a future America where everyone would be mixed race, and a person's race would not define them.
Spreading the Message
The Tappan brothers helped create chapters of the American Anti-Slavery Society (AAS) across New York and in other areas that supported their cause. While many people liked Tappan, those who opposed ending slavery attacked his homes and churches. They used fire and damaged property.
Lewis started sending abolitionist materials by mail all over the country. This caused angry reactions in the South. Democratic politicians accused him of trying to divide the country. In the North, however, these mailings gained a lot of support and money for the American Anti-Slavery Society.
By 1840, the anti-slavery movement had grown and started to split. Tappan formed the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. He disagreed with the AAS because they allowed a woman, Abby Kelley, to be on their business committee. Because of his strong religious beliefs, Tappan did not think women should hold official positions in public society.
Tappan also started an abolitionist newspaper called Human Rights. He even created a children's anti-slavery magazine called The Slave's Friend.
The Amistad Story
In 1841, the famous Amistad case went to trial. Lewis Tappan attended every day of the trials. He wrote daily reports for The Emancipator, an abolitionist newspaper.
During the trials in New Haven, Connecticut, Tappan arranged for students from Yale University to teach the imprisoned Africans English. The lessons included reading parts of the New Testament scriptures and singing Christian hymns. The Africans later used these skills to raise money for their trip back to Africa.
After winning the case in the U.S. Supreme Court, Tappan hoped to use the Amistad Africans to help spread Christianity in Africa. A village in modern Sierra Leone, called Mo Tappan, is named after him. It was the site of a mission to the Mende people, the group the Amistad Africans belonged to.
Helping After the War
American Missionary Association
In 1846, Tappan helped create the American Missionary Association (AMA). This group was led by both white and Black Congregational and Presbyterian ministers. It connected anti-slavery activists from the East Coast with those in Ohio and other Midwestern states.
The AMA also took over many different missions. These included a mission to the Red Lake-area Ojibwe people, a mission in Jamaica, a mission to the Mende people (the Amistad Africans' group), and a mission to escaped Black people living in Canada. As the AMA grew, it started more projects. For example, it helped create 115 anti-slavery Congregational churches in Illinois.
In 1858, Tappan was the Treasurer of the AMA. The AMA disagreed with other powerful missionary groups because they believed those groups were too involved with slavery. During and after the American Civil War, Tappan and his brother Arthur worked with the AMA from New York to help freed people in the South. After the war, the AMA helped start many schools and colleges for freed people. These are now known as historically black colleges and universities (HBCU).
Political Views
Lewis Tappan strongly believed the U.S. government should act against slavery in the Southern states. He and other abolitionists criticized the Democratic Party for supporting slavery. Even though he didn't fully trust politicians, Tappan supported anti-slavery parties. These efforts eventually led to the creation of the Republican Party. Tappan voted for Abraham Lincoln in both 1860 and 1864.
Tappan supported the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed enslaved people in Confederate states. But he believed more rights were needed. He wrote to Charles Sumner, a senator, saying that Black people would not have their full rights until they had both military power and the right to vote.
Lewis Tappan's Philanthropy
Lewis Tappan gave money and support to many important causes and organizations, including:
- American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society
- American Anti-Slavery Society
- American Colonization Society
- American Missionary Association
- Human Rights (journal)
- Lane Theological Seminary
- Oberlin College
- Oneida Institute
- The Amistad defendants (the Africans from the ship)
See also
- United States v. The Amistad, the United States Supreme Court case
