Colonization in Africa

Jessica Ford

History 330

11/18/2014

In 1816, an all-white group of concerned citizens organized the American Colonization Society. At the time it was the most significant organization that was anti-slavery. The citizens had three major concerns at this time. One of those concerns was that of having emancipation progressively moving forward. The second concern that they had was that the need for an established colony in Africa, where African Americans could go, and there they would be in charge of their own life away from the American society. The third thing that they were concerned with is that of allowing the chiefdom in African give the right to a parcel of land to the African that went over. Several key people played important roles in the colonization in Africa. There were the ones that supported it and some citizens that opposed the colonization. The citizens that supported colonization had thought it was a good ideal for a number of reasons. One of those reasons was that the white prejudice was not going to change in the future; therefor they saw it as a better way of life over there. Other reason supporters were for it was that African Americans would get somewhat of a freedom it they travelled back to Africa and that if African Americans stayed and not return, they would not get full citizenship, therefor African Americans thought that it was a good idea to go to a place where you could benefit from having that full citizenship. Born to a creole mother and an American father, was one supporter of the colonization in Africa. John B Russwurm had an influential impact on the colonization in Africa but it was not always like that. He was college educated and the co-founder of the black abolitionist paper; Freedoms Journal. The journal was “America’s first black owned and served as a forum for discussion and debate of the question of the day.” In the beginning Russwurm, along with Samuel Cornish both opposed the colonization in Africa. After Cornish had resigned from “Freedoms Journal” Russwurm used the paper to promote colonization. It was then that the “Freedoms Journal” saw a decrease in the amount of people in reading it. Another supporter of the colonization in Africa was Martin R. Delany. Delany had a Black Nationalist vision. In the 1850s Delany developed an overriding interest in foreign colonization opportunities for African Americans, and in 1859–60 he led an exploration party to West Africa to investigate the Niger Delta as a location for settlement. It was there that he found how rich the continent was in minerals and metals. Another supporter for the colonization in Africa was Paul Cuffe. Cuffe was part African descent and part Indian descent. He resided in Massachusetts and was a ship owner as well as a very wealthy merchant owner. Cuffe sued for his right to vote in Massachusetts and eventually won that case. Some said that it was for the fact that due to his wealth and in fact that he was the one that was in charge of arranging the shipping of blacks that wanted to go back to Africa. Just as there were the supporters that had an impact on supporting the colonization in Africa, there were just that many more who had opposed the colonization. The reasons that they had opposed it were that they felt that if they were to go back to Africa, they would have no connections, after being kept away for many generations. The only world that they had known anything about was that of America. As a consequence of being gone for so many generations African Americans family was based here and not in Africa. The main reason why there were ones that opposed the colonization in Africa was that African Americans were committed to stay on American soil, and therefore had natural rights just as everyone else had and needed that right to be enforced. An opponent for the colonization in Africa was David Walker. His appeal to the colored citizens of the world had a lot of influence and most people who read it had a reaction that was compelling. Walker was born to a white mother and a black slave father. After moving to Boston in the 1820’s, Walker became an agent for the “Freedoms Journal.” His writing was very dynamic and was influential to other abolitionist. He thought that blacks should embrace the fact that they were African American and wanted them to have hope. His pamphlet was written to blacks and inspired militant black abolitionism. Due to the fact that his writings were so dynamic, whites where fearful and the South was determined to hold onto slavery and made them more protective of slavery. Another opponent for the colonization in Africa was Samuel Cornish. Cornish was a leader in the abolition movement and was the cofounder of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Just as the same as David Walker, Cornish wanted African Americans to try and better their lifestyle in the United States. He saw that Liberia, where the African Americans were set to go, was not in the state to be able to have people live there. In concluding, I feel like that colonization in Africa was a plan that was too far-fetched. With nearly four million blacks, there was simply not enough money, man power or ships to take on a plan that was so gigantic. Some African Americans had been over here for quite some time and only knew what they had here. If they would have chosen to go back to Africa, what would be their reasoning? They would have gained full citizenship if they went to Africa, but what would be the justification for that? They would know no one there so why not stay in America where you know people and the surrounding area and take the chance at one day gaining that citizenship.
Endnotes
(D. Hine 2012, 178)
(D. Hine 2012, 179)
(D. Hine 2012, 181) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/156331/Martin-R-Delany