He drew together a few of his neighbors, and together they organized the Union Humane Society, whose object was the relief of those held in bondage.

In a few months the society numbered several hundred members, and Lundy issued an address to the philanthropists of the whole country, urging them to unite in like manner with uniform constitutions, and suggesting that societies so formed adopt a policy of correspondence and cooperation.

At about the same time, Lundy began to publish anti-slavery articles in the Mount Pleasant Philanthropist and other papers.
In 1819 he went on a business errand to St.Louis, Missouri, where he found himself in the midst of an agitation over the question of the extension of slavery in the States.

With great zest he threw himself into the discussion, making use of the newspapers in Missouri and Illinois.

Having lost his property, he returned poverty-stricken to Ohio, where he founded in January, 1821, the Genius of Universal Emancipation.