A founder of the Republican Party, Kelley gained national attention when he gave a speech against expanding slavery into the territories. He was considered to be a man of strict principles, who advocated for the recruitment of black troops in the Civil War and for extending the franchise to them afterwards. Kelley served on the Union League Committee supporting the raising of African American troops and establishment of Camp William Penn. Along with Thaddeus Stevens, Kelley use his political leverage to helped Catto end public transit segregation and achieve Pennsylvania's ratify the 14th and 15th Amendments. Kelley also introduced...

McMichael, a former Civil War officer, was a founding member of the Union League of Philadelphia and the League's 4th president. After the Civil war, McMichael was elected the first Republican Mayor of Philadelphia, serving from 1866 through 1869. At the Union League, McMichael presented Catto, Robert Purvis, Frederick Douglass, Robert Forten and others with a banner honoring their work in the passage of the 15th Amendment in Pennsylvania. The Morton McMichael Elementary School in Philadelphia was named for him.