American Colonization Society

The American Colonization Society was an organization founded in 1816 to promote the resettlement of free Black Americans in Africa. It established the colony of Liberia.

Robert Finley: Robert Finley was a Presbyterian minister who helped found the American Colonization Society. His proposal for organized emigration helped launch the society.
Liberia: Liberia is a West African republic founded as a settlement for emigrants from the United States. The society’s colonization project developed into this independent country.
Paul Cuffe: Paul Cuffe was a Black American shipowner and abolitionist who organized African emigration before the American Colonization Society was founded. His earlier voyages and settlement advocacy helped establish the idea the society later pursued.
Abolitionism in the United States: Abolitionism in the United States was a movement to end slavery and secure freedom for enslaved people. Many abolitionists opposed colonization because it left racial exclusion intact and displaced Black Americans.
Charles Fenton Mercer: Charles Fenton Mercer was a Virginia politician and a leading organizer of the American Colonization Society. He built political support and helped turn colonization into a national organization.
Monrovia: Monrovia is the capital of Liberia, founded as a settlement for African American emigrants. The society established its principal settlement there in 1822.
Elias B. Caldwell: Elias B. Caldwell was a Virginia lawyer and early secretary of the American Colonization Society. His public arguments helped explain the society’s program to its early supporters.
Emigrationism: Emigrationism was advocacy for Black Americans to leave the United States and establish communities elsewhere. The society’s program was one organized version of this broader political current.
Henry Clay: Henry Clay was an American statesman who served as the first president of the American Colonization Society. His leadership connected the society to prominent national politicians.
Maryland in Africa: Maryland in Africa was a nineteenth-century colony founded by the Maryland State Colonization Society, later incorporated into Liberia. It shows how colonization efforts also produced a separate settlement along the Liberian coast.

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