an EVOLUTION of
ideas
actions
colonization
Beginning in the days of the New World, some believed the best alternative to the system of slavery was colonization--the return of African Americans to the continent of Africa. Supporters of colonization came from two markedly different camps. The first camp were liberal abolitionists who felt it fair for enslaved Africans to gain safe passage to their home continent. The other camp were slaveholders who were so afraid of the impact of free black Africans they would rather exile them from society.
At the height of popularity in the early 1800s, American politicians awarded $100,000 to the American Colonization Society to secure transportation to Sierra Leone and Liberia, which were set up as colonies for returned black African Americans. By 1842, the colonies were self-sustaining societies with black officials in positions of power.
By the 1840s, abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison took aim at colonization efforts, dismissing them as “inadequate, injurious and unsound.” This targeted opposition teamed with the shear size of the African American population led to the decline in popularity of the American Colonization Society and the general movement to relocate black Americans. However, as America became embroiled in a Civil War based on the morality of the institution of slavery, Lincoln turned to colonization as a way to introduce the possibility of how to bring an end to enslavement as a practice.
showcased DOCUMENT
Remarks on Colonization, August 14, 1862
The Civil War officially began in 1861, with the secession of South Carolina, followed by six other states. In 1862, with war continuing to divide the country, Lincoln invited a delegation of black Americans to the White House. This was the first time the president met with a group of black Americans.
In his address, Lincoln attempts to convince those in attendance that colonization is a benefical solution to the racial tensions in the United States. While most attendees departed with newfound support for attendance, abolitionists were not as sympathetic to the cause. In addition, many used Lincoln's unusually awkward speech to point out his racist beliefs.
Despite the social fallout regarding his push for colonization, Lincoln continued to press for the relocation of African Americans up until the delivery of his Emancipation Proclamation. The day before, he met with the most avid colonizationist, James Doolittle from Wisconsin, to sign a contract to transport blacks to an island off the coast of Haiti.
people
A Southern congressman who felt blacks could not integrate into American society due to racial tensions, he along with James Munroe, Andrew Jackson and other wrote the Constitution for the American Colonization Society.
A Senator representing Wisconsin, he was one of the most vocal, active supporters of colonization.
A German-born cotton broker from New Orleans, he convinced Lincoln to promise funding for a colony set up off the coast of Haiti. While he set up the colony, it was eventually abandoned.
timeline
