African American Colonial Society In The 1800s

American Colonial Society

The colonization movement, the relocating of African Americans from the mainstream of white American society, had its beginnings in the eighteenth century. As early as 1713, Quaker abolitionists begun to advocate that freed blacks be returned to African; and later by blacks, themselves, around 1787 by the likes of Anthony Benezet and Benjamin Rush. Some plans that later emerged, included the establishment of a separate colony for blacks west of the Mississippi River, others called for the “new” black colony to be located in Mexico or South America, and others for the location to be in Africa, the land blacks originated from. In addition, during this period, some free blacks would petition the legislatures of their colonies for return to their homelands. In the early 1800s, Paul Cuffe, of Massachusetts, a free black shipping merchant, became an active participant in the colonization movement. Cuffe did not believe that blacks living in the United States would ever receive the same rights and privileges of whites. Africa, to him, seemed the idea location for African
Americans to establish a colony. In 1815-1816, at his own expense, Cuffe made a successful voyage in transporting thirty-eight blacks to Sierra Leone, Africa. Once a colony was in place, he foresaw himself and other blacks establishing trade between the United States, and especially with the free black entrepreneurs there. Furthermore, during the Revolutionary war period, there were prominent white leaders who also advocated the colonization of blacks. Thomas Jefferson said, “Nothing is more to be wished than the United States holds thus undertake to make such an establishment of the coast of Africa.”1 His plan was for general emancipation and deportation. Yet, he never put into practice what he said; Jefferson would retain ownership of slaves until his death. Many attribute the American Colonization Society to be the brainchild of Robert Finley in 1816. William Thornton first put forth the idea in an1804 pamphlet urging that some organization collect funds to colonize free African Americans in some part of the world, distant from the United States. This pamphlet was dedicated to James Madison, who would become the fourth president of the United States. At first, Madison did not completely support the idea of colonization; he realized that it did not make any provisions for emancipating and colonizing those blacks still held in bondage. Madison would take the helm of the organization in 1821, with doubts still in his mind. In a letter he wrote, “The negro slavery is, as you justly complain, a sad blot on our free country, though a very ungracious subject of reproaches from the quarter which has been the most lavish of them. No satisfactory plan has yet been devised for taking out the stain.”2 A number of white antislavery leaders such a Benjamin Lundy, the Tappan brothers, Gerritt Smith, and others considered the idea.
William Lloyd Garrison, the impassionate abolitionist, was at first in support of the idea, too. However, later, in 1832, he attacked the American Colonization Society with his denunciations in his pamphlet, Thoughts on African Colonization. The colonization movement had many forms and plans that would be the source of disagreements among blacks for years to come. In fact, during the early years of the movement, the concepts of emancipation and colonization were widely interpreted and confusing to whites as well. By this time, English abolitionists, that included William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson, had established a colony in Sierra Leone, Africa for blacks from England, and those “Black Loyalists” who found life too oppressive in Nova
Scotia. Later, the organization became the American Colonization Society founded in Washington D.C. in December 1816 and January 1817. The driving force behind its organization came from Robert Finley, a Presbyterian minister, who was able to solicit the help of his brother-in-law, Elias b. Caldwell, the clerk of the Supreme Court, and Francis Scott Key. The three would begin to solicit support for the organization from leading citizens and political heads throughout the country. While the individual motives of the founders varied greatly, some were sincerely concerned about the plight of free blacks; there were those who believed that colonization would eventually end the practice of slavery. Then, there were the supporters of the stance taken by Henry Clay: to keep slavery an ongoing practice, but to rid the country of free African Americans, who were perceived as a threat to the system. Many whites believed that free blacks were the agitators who inspired and caused rebellion by those in bondage. However, it was clear that the primary purpose of the Society was to transport free blacks from the United States to Africa for colonization. Among those present at the founding meeting of the Society were Henry Clay, Francis Scott Key, author of “The Star-spangled Banner”, John Randolph of Roanoke, Hezekiah Niles of the famous Niles Register [devoted to primarily to politics, this newspaper is considered an important source for the history of the period], and Judge Bushrod Washington, a nephew of George Washington. In the Society, “…the president, [Washington], was a Southern man, twelve of the seventeen vice-presidents were Southern men; and all of the twelve managers of the project were slaveholders.”3