John Rankin (abolitionist) - Beyond The Pulpit

Beyond The Pulpit

In 1833 Rankin came to know Theodore Weld through their involvement with the creation of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Weld had come to Ohio from Connecticut to attend Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati. In November 1834 at Rankin's Ripley church, Weld began a year-long series of speeches throughout Ohio that raised the profile of the abolitionist movement in the state and inspired Rankin to also expand his work beyond the pulpit and beyond Ripley, speaking from town to town on behalf of the national Society and founding many new local societies.

While in Zanesville, Ohio, for the formation of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, Rankin had his first real experience with mob opposition to his efforts as he was showered with rotten eggs in town. When he stopped in Chillicothe to speak at a church on the way home, stones were thrown through the window.

In 1836, Weld invited Rankin to join a group called "the Seventy" who were selected by the American Anti-Slavery Society to travel to churches throughout the Northern states preaching in support of immediate emancipation and forming local anti-slavery societies. Released by his congregation for one year to participate in the effort, Rankin's passion for the cause grew with the opposition to his "dangerous" views, even among many who opposed slavery but feared the instigation of a slave uprising. A bounty of up to $3000 was placed on his life, and in 1841 he and his sons had to fight off attackers who came to burn his house and barn in the middle of the night.

The passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 heightened the danger and profile of their assistance to runaways as it had become illegal to do so, even in free states. At an anti-slavery society meeting in Highland County, Ohio held by Rankin and Salmon P. Chase, however, Rankin declared, "Disobedience to the enactment is obedience to God."

Opposition within his own congregation, spurred by Rankin's attempts to expel slaveowners from the church, finally led him to resign in 1846 after 24 years as minister of the Ripley Presbyterian Church. Over one-third of the church's members left with him and helped Rankin establish the Free Presbyterian Church, which grew to have 72 congregations.