In 1836, Robinson was hired by the antislavery newspaper The Philanthropist, which was established by the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. James G. Birney was its editor. A mob attacked the newspaper office on July 30, 1836. Robinson escaped and rode horseback with the forms for the paper, which he had published in Wilmington, Delaware. Birney and Robinson returned to the office in Cincinnati after a few days with no further threats or violence.
