Lewis Tappan (1788-1873), founder of the Journal of Commerce and the nation's first credit rating firm, is probably best known for his business accomplishments. His greatest achievement, however, was not finance but freedom. In the 1830s, he and his wealthy brother Arthur underwrote and inspired the Manhattan headquarters of the American Anti-Slavery Society and founded many other organisations to promote freedom, faith, and racial tolerance. As prominent historian Bertram Wyatt-Brown demonstrates in this fascinating portrait, Tappan contributed much more to the cause of liberty and equality than has yet been acknowledged.
Bertram Wyatt-Brown is the Richard J. Milbauer Professor of History at the University of Florida and the author of several books, including The House of Percy: Honor, Melancholy, and Imagination in a Southern Family.
