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American Colonization Society pamphlet

 Collection
Identifier: S2785

Scope and Contents

This collection includes a single pamphlet created by the American Colonization Society on May 23, 1825 printed in Washington City by Way & Gideon. It is entitled "Constitution, government, and digest of the laws of Liberia".

Dates

  • 1825

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Historical Note

"Liberia is the only black state in Africa never subjected to colonial rule and is Africa’s oldest republic. It was established on land acquired for freed U.S. slaves by the American Colonization Society, which founded a colony at Cape Mesurado in 1821. In 1824 the territory was named Liberia, and its main settlement was named Monrovia, which is the present-day capital."

Source: Holsoe, Svend E., Abeodu Bowen Jones, Donald Rahl Petterson. "Liberia". EncyclopediaBrittanica.com. Accessed September 20, 2018.

Administrative History

"American Colonization Society, in full American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Color of the United States, American organization dedicated to transporting freeborn blacks and emancipated slaves to Africa. It was founded in 1816 by Robert Finley, a Presbyterian minister, and some of the country’s most influential men, including Francis Scott Key, Henry Clay, and Bushrod Washington (nephew of George Washington and the society’s first president). Support for it came from local and state branches and from churches, and the federal government provided some initial funding. The membership was overwhelmingly white—with some clergymen and abolitionists but also a large number of slave owners—and all generally agreed with the prevailing view of the time that free blacks could not be integrated into white America.

The society’s program focused on purchasing and freeing slaves, paying their passage (and that of free blacks) to the west coast of Africa, and assisting them after their arrival there. In 1821, after a failed colonizing attempt the previous year and protracted negotiations with local chiefs, the society acquired the Cape Mesurado area, subsequently the site of Monrovia, Liberia. Some saw colonization as a humanitarian effort and a means of ending slavery, but many antislavery advocates came to oppose the society, believing that its true intent was to drain off the best of the free black population and preserve the institution of slavery. Reviled by extremists on both sides of the slavery debate and suffering from a shortage of money, the society declined after 1840. In 1847 Liberia, until then virtually an overseas branch of the society, declared its independence. Between 1821 and 1867 some 10,000 black Americans, along with several thousand Africans from interdicted slave ships, were resettled by the group, but its involvement with transport to Liberia ended after the American Civil War. The society focused on education and missionary activities until the early 20th century. It was dissolved in 1964."

"American Colonization Society". EncyclopediaBrittanica.com. Accessed September 20, 2018.

Extent

0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection consists of one item.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2018/09/20 by Lauren Patton. EAD finding aid created 2018/09/20 by Lauren Patton.
Title
American Colonization Society pamphlet
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671