He was elected as the only delegate to attend the 1852 Free Soil Party Convention in Pittsburgh from Maine, where he famously advocated for anti-slavery, and physically threatened the owner of a local tavern for refusing to serve Frederick Douglass, a noted abolitionist and black member of the party. After his political career, he continued to publish anti-slavery pieces in his newspaper, and establish the Maine State Seminary, which would later be named "Bates College." He governed as the first President of Bates College for nearly four decades–from 1855 to 1894–creating its liberal arts curriculum, hiring faculty, and choosing its campus; during this time he adopted the moniker O.B. Cheney.