Tappan, Arthur (1786–1865)

US merchant, philanthropist, and abolitionist. He cofounded the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833 and became its first president. Later breaking with other abolitionists because of their linking of abolitionism with other issues (such as women's rights), he helped found the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1840. He also cofounded the American Missionary Society in 1846, which included abolition as one of its goals.

Tappan was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, and brought up in a strict religious home. In 1826 he started a prosperous silk jobbing venture in New York City, soon involving his brother Lewis Tappan as partner. In 1827 he founded the conservative New York Journal of Commerce to be a model of decent and reform-minded journalism. Both brothers devoted time and money to causes ranging from temperance to abolitionism. Arthur backed many theological seminaries and colleges, as well as William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, and similar journals. After he broke with Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society, he supported abolition through political channels and supported the Liberty Party.