In the history of American abolitionism, a few worthy individuals stand out above the rest: the courageous and resourceful Harriet Tubman, the zealous and cerebral Frederick Douglass, and the fiery and radical William Lloyd Garrison.
While these names certainly deserve their pride of place, one figure undeservedly languishes in the background — a man who, despite being relatively unknown today, was so indispensable to the success of the abolitionist movement that he was often referred to as “the father of abolitionism.” That man was the Reverend John Rankin.
As Caleb Franz reveals in his new book, The Conductor: The Story of Rev. John Rankin, Abolitionism’s Essential Founding Father, Rankin risked everything he had to shepherd thousands of slaves to freedom, and he helped lead to the abolition of slavery itself through his public advocacy. In this tightly written, sensitive, and gripping narrative, Franz resurrects the story of one of history’s most unsung heroes.
On the surface, Rankin seemed to be an ordinary man, but his plainness veiled a web of complex dualities. A mild-mannered family man who hailed from the South and abhorred violence, he became the leader of one of the Underground Railroad’s most traveled and dangerous lines. A theologically conservative Presbyterian minister who loved his church, his kin, and America, Rankin’s anti-slavery agitation helped to break up his denomination, his country, and nearly his family too.
Despite these major ruptures, Rankin remained fundamentally conservative. While other abolitionists were prepared to destroy institutions and personal relationships that they believed
