The Underground Railroad was a secret network of anti-slavery sympathizers, including free blacks and Northern abolitionists, who defied the Fugitive Slave Act to help escaped slaves on to freedom in the North and Canada. The best-known of the Underground Railroad “conductors” was Harriet Tubman, who led about 300 Maryland slaves to freedom in Canada.
Arthur Tappan (1786–1865) and Lewis Tappan (1788–1863) were successful merchants and prominent antebellum abolitionists. Brothers born in Massachusetts, Arthur and Lewis became wealthy through various business ventures from the 1820s through the 1840s. The two became involved in the abolition movement in the 1830s, and they used their wealth to advance the cause. In 1833, they formed the American Anti-Slavery Society with Theodore Weld and founded Oberlin College, which enrolled both black and white students. Lewis gave financial backing to...