Thoughts on African Colonization

All these proscriptive measures, and others less conspicuous but equally oppressive, – which are not only flagrant violations of the Constitution of the United States, but in the highest degree disgraceful and inhuman, – are resorted to, (to borrow the language of the Secretary in his Fifteenth Annual Report,) 'for the more complete accomplishment of the great objects of the American Colonization Society'!!

I appeal to the candor and common sense of the reader, if this grievous persecution be not justly chargeable to the Society? It is constantly thundering in the ears of the slave States – 'Your free blacks contaminate your slaves, excite their deadliest hate, and are a source of horrid danger to yourselves! They must be removed, or your destruction is inevitable!' What is their response? Precisely such as might be expected – 'We know it; we dread the presence of this class; their influence over our slaves weakens our power, and endangers our safety; they must, they shall be expatriated, or be crushed to the earth if they remain!' It says to the free States – 'Your colored population can never be rendered serviceable, intelligent or loyal; they will only, and always, serve to increase your taxes, crowd your poor-houses and penitentiaries, and corrupt and impoverish society!' Again, what is the natural response? – 'It is even so; they are offensive to the eye, and a pest in community; theirs is now, and must inevitably be, without a reversal of the laws of nature, the lot of vagabonds; it were useless to attempt their intellectual and moral improvement among ourselves; and therefore be this their alternative – either to emigrate to Liberia, or remain for ever a despicable caste in this country!'

Hence the enactment of those sanguinary laws, to which reference has been made: hence, too, the increasing disposition which is every where seen to render the situation of the free blacks intolerable. Never was it so pitiable and distressing – so full of peril and anxiety – so burdened with misery, despondency and scorn; never were the prejudices of society so virulent and implacable against them; never were their prospects so dark, and dreary, and hopeless; never was the hand of power so heavily laid upon their limbs; never were they so restricted in regard to locomotion and the advantages of education, as at the present time. Athwart their sky scarcely darts a single ray of light – above and around them darkness reigns, and an angry tempest is mustering its fearful strength, and 'thunders are uttering their voices.' Treachery is seeking to decoy, and violence to expel them. For all this, and more than this, and more that is to come, the American Colonization Society is responsible. And no better evidence is needed than this: their persecution, traducement and wretchedness increase in exact ratio with the influence, popularity and extension of this Society! The fact is undeniable, and it is conclusive. For it is absurd to suppose, that as the disposition and ability of an association to alleviate misery increase, so will the degradation and suffering of the objects of its charities.

The assertion that the free blacks corrupt the morals of the slaves, is too ludicrous to need a serious refutation. Corrupt the morals of those who are recognized and treated as brutes, and who know as little of the laws of God as of the laws of the land! Immaculate creatures! The system of slavery is constantly developing new excellencies: it is, we now perceive, the protector of virtue, the enemy of vice, and a purifier of the soul!

But something more indiscreet and preposterous than this, is advanced for our admiration. We are gravely assured, first, by a New-England clergyman, that, generally, the condition of the free man of color 'is one in comparison with which the condition of the slave is enviable;' and, secondly, by the last distinguished convert to the Colonization Society – the Hon. Mr. Archer of Virginia – 'the condition of the slave is a thousand times the best, [the disparity is wonderful!] —supplied, protected, instead of destitute and desolate'!18 Let us draw a brief comparison. The limbs of the free black are fetterless; he is controlled by no brutal driver; he bleeds not under the lash; he is his own master; his wife and children cannot be torn from his arms; he enjoys the fruits of his own labor; he can improve his own mind, make his own bargains, manage his own business, go from place to place, and assert his own rights. The situation and privileges of the slave are exactly the reverse. Reader, are they 'enviable' – 'a thousand times the best' – in comparison with those of the former? I do not mean to say that there are no instances in which the slave fares as well as the free man of color; but the argument of these apologists implies that a state of slavery is superior to a state of freedom, or it is worthless.

4. It appears, from the quotations that have been given, that the only reason why the free blacks are not colonized in the 'far West,' or in Canada, or Hayti, or Mexico, is, because their proximity to the slave States might prove detrimental. If they could be sent to any or to all these places, without any danger to ourselves, why then all objections would cease. This confession places the hypocrisy of this Society in bold relief. It pretends to be anxious to evangelize benighted Africa, and stop the slave trade; but only assure it that the blacks may be safely colonized nearer home, and Africa might still continue to grope in darkness, and the slave trade to increase in enormity, and its bowels of compassion would speedily cease to yearn! – Hence it is that the rapid enlargement of the Wilberforce Settlement in Upper Canada so disturbs the repose of the advocates of African colonization; and many of them would rejoice at its overthrow.

SECTION VII

THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY AIMS AT THE UTTER EXPULSION OF THE BLACKS

The implacable spirit of this Society is most apparent in its determination not to cease from its labors, until our whole colored population be expelled from the country. The following is the evidence in confirmation of this charge:

'How came we by this population? By the prevalence for a century of a guilty commerce. And will not the prevalence for a century of a restoring commerce, place them on their own shores? Yes, surely!' – [African Repository, vol. i. p. 347.]

'For several years the subject of abolition of slavery has been brought before you. I am decidedly opposed to the project recommended. NO SCHEME OF ABOLITION WILL MEET MY SUPPORT, THAT LEAVES THE EMANCIPATED BLACKS AMONG US. Experience has proved, that they become a corrupt and degraded class, as burthensome to themselves as they are hurtful to the rest of society. To permit the blacks to remain amongst us, after their emancipation, would be to aggravate and not to cure the evil.' – [Idem, vol. ii. pp. 188, 189.]

'We would say, LIBERATE THEM ONLY ON CONDITION OF THEIR GOING TO AFRICA OR TO HAYTI.' – [Idem, vol. iii. p. 26.]

'I am not complaining of the owners of slaves; IT WOULD BE AS HUMANE TO THROW THEM FROM THE DECKS IN THE MIDDLE PASSAGE, AS TO SET THEM FREE IN OUR COUNTRY.' * * * 'The Colonization Society, I undertake to show, presents such a scheme. Slaveholders have given it their approbation; they will approve it, and they can approve of no other. Any scheme of emancipation without colonization, they know and see and feel to be productive of nothing but evil; evil to all whom it affects: to the white population, to the slaves, to the manumitted themselves.' * * 'Throughout the slaveholding States there is a strong objection, even among the warmest friends of the African race, to slaves being liberated and allowed to remain among us; and some States have enacted laws against it. The objection is, in our individual opinion, well founded.' – [Idem, vol. iv. pp. 226, 300, 340.]

'In connexion with this subject, your memorialists beg leave to mention, that by an act of the Virginia Legislature, passed in 1805, emancipated slaves forfeit their freedom by remaining for a longer period than twelve months, within the limits of the Commonwealth. This law, odious and unjust as it may at first view appear, and hard as it may seem to bear upon the liberated negro, was doubtless dictated by sound policy, and its repeal would be regarded by none with more unfeigned regret, than by the friends of African Colonization. It has restrained many masters from giving freedom to their slaves, and has thereby contributed to check the growth of an evil already too great and formidable.' * * 'Under the influence of a policy, already referred to, and justified by the necessity from which it sprung, the laws of Virginia have prohibited emancipation within the limits of the State, but on condition of the early removal of the individual emancipated.' * * 'While hundreds, perhaps we might say thousands, of the free colored people, are seeking a passage to Liberia; hundreds who hold slaves, would willingly set them at liberty, were the means of their removal provided. And till those means are provided, the liberation of the slave would neither be a blessing to himself, nor the public. His liberty under any circumstances may be a debt due, in the abstract, to the claims of human nature; but when applied to him individually, it would be a calamity. We cannot conceive of a more deplorable state of society, than what our slaveholding states would present, with their black population afloat, without a home, without the means of subsistence, and without those self-relying habits, which might lead them to obtain an independent livelihood. It is not therefore incumbent upon those who hold slaves, to set them at liberty, till some means are provided for their removal, or at least for their subsistence. They owe it neither to themselves, to their country, nor the unfortunate beings around them.' * * * 'Those slaves still in my possession, I cannot conscientiously emancipate, unless they shall be removed by the Society to Liberia.' – [Idem, vol. v. pp. 20, 53, 89, 177.]

'If the question were submitted, whether there should be either immediate or gradual emancipation of all the slaves in the United States, without their removal or colonization, painful as it is to express the opinion, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT IT WOULD BE UNWISE TO EMANCIPATE THEM.' * * 'Is our posterity doomed to endure forever not only all the ills flowing from the state of slavery, but all which arise from incongruous elements of population, separated from each other by invincible prejudices, and by natural causes? Whatever may be the character of the remedy proposed, we may confidently pronounce it inadequate, unless it provides efficaciously for the total and absolute separation, by an extensive space of water or of land, at least, of the white portion of our population from that, which is free, of the colored.' * * 'Who, if this promiscuous residence of whites and blacks, of freemen and slaves, is forever to continue, can imagine the servile wars, the carnage and the crimes which will be its probable consequences, without shuddering with horror?' * * 'Gentlemen of the highest respectability from the South, assure us, that there is among the owners of slaves a very extensive and increasing desire to emancipate them. Their patriotism, their humanity, nay their self-interest, prompt to this; but it is not expedient, it is not safe to do it, without being able to remove them.' * * 'How important it is, as it respects our character abroad, that we hasten to clear our land of our black population!'

'Some benevolent minds in the overflowings of their philanthropy, advocate amalgamation of the two classes, saying, let the colored class be freed, and remain among us as denizens of the Empire; surely all classes of mankind are alike descended from the primitive parentage of Eden, then why not intermingle in one common society as friends and brothers. No, Sir, no. I hope to prove at no very distant day, that a Southron can make sacrifices for the cause of Colonization beyond seas; but for a Home Department in those matters, I repeat, no, Sir, no. What right, I demand, have the children of Africa to an homestead in the white man's country?'19

'Let the regenerated African rise to Empire; nay, let Genius flourish, and Philosophy shed its mild beams to enlighten and instruct the posterity of Ham, returning "redeemed and disenthralled," from their long captivity in the New World. But, Sir, be all these benefits enjoyed by the African race under the shade of their native palms. Let the Atlantic billow heave its high and everlasting barrier between their country and ours. Let this fair land, which the white man won by his chivalry, which he has adorned by the arts and elegancies of polished life, be kept sacred for his descendants, untarnished by the footprint of him who hath ever been a slave.' – [Idem, vol. vi. pp. 5, 12, 23, 110, 364, 371, 372.]

'The idea of emancipating our slaves, and permitting them to remain within the limits of the U. S. whether as a measure of humanity or of policy, is most decisively reprobated by universal public sentiment… Does any man in his senses desire this population to remain among us? If the whole community could reply, IT WOULD RESPOND IN ONE UNIVERSAL NEGATIVE.' – [Idem, vol. vii. pp. 230, 231.]

'In reflecting on the utility of a plan for colonizing the free people of color, with whom our country abounds, it is natural that we should be first struck by its tendency to confer a benefit on ourselves, by ridding us of a population for the most part idle and useless, and too often vicious and mischievous… All emancipation, to however small an extent, which permits the persons emancipated to remain in this country, is an evil, which must increase with the increase of the operation, and would become altogether intolerable, if extended to the whole, or even to a very large part, of the black population. I am therefore strongly opposed to emancipation, in every shape and degree, unless accompanied by colonization.' – [First Annual Report.]

'They will annex the condition that the emancipated SHALL LEAVE THE COUNTRY.' – [Second Annual Report.]

'They require that the whole mass of free persons of color, and those who may become such with the consent of their owners, should be progressively removed from among us, as fast as their own consent can be obtained, and as the means can be found for their removal and for their proper establishment in Africa. Nothing short of this progressive but complete removal can accomplish the great objects of this measure, in relation to the security, prosperity, and happiness of the United States.' – [Seventh Annual Report.]

'Is it either safe or prudent to retain amongst us a large population, on whom we can place no reliance, but from the control which the laws exercise over it? Can this class be animated by any feelings of patriotism towards a country by which they feel themselves oppressed?' – [Ninth Annual Report.]

'Colonization, to be correct, must be beyond seas. – Emancipation, with the liberty to remain on this side of the Atlantic, IS BUT AN ACT OF DREAMY MADNESS!' – [Thirteenth Annual Report.]

'Has our country the resources demanded for the accomplishment of an object of such magnitude? The transportation of more than two millions of souls to a remote country is indeed an object of formidable aspect. It obviously cannot be accomplished at once. But that the number can be gradually diminished, till utterly extinguished, may be made to appear, it is believed, from a little arithmetical calculation…' 'It has been said that the entire shipping of the country, both public and private, would hardly be competent for an object of this magnitude. But careful calculation has proved, that one eighteenth of the mercantile shipping alone, entirely devoted to the enterprise, is competent to carry it into complete consummation. And why might not our brilliant and growing navy aid to some extent the humane and patriotic cause? If necessary, why might not the marine of other lands be chartered? Strange indeed it is if shipping enough could be found half a century ago to reduce hundreds of thousands of this race in a single year to a wretched vassalage, and in this age of augmented light, and wealth, and improvement in every art, enough cannot be found for the single benevolent object before us!' – [Rev. Baxter Dickinson's Sermon delivered in Springfield in 1829.]

'How much soever we may regret that so little is done for the intellectual and moral improvement of the free colored population, as the surest preventive against crime, still we must acknowledge it is in vain to attempt raising their character to a level with that of the other inhabitants. They must find an asylum beyond the influence of the white population, or the majority of them will ever be found unworthy of the boon of freedom. There must be that asylum for them, or we despair of ever being able to improve materially their condition, or to eradicate slavery from our soil, and thus prevent the awful catastrophe which threatens our republic. They must be furnished with facilities to leave this country and establish themselves in a community of their own.' – 'I have alluded to the difficulties which are presented to the minds of benevolent and conscientious slaveholders, wishing to manumit their slaves. From what has been said, it is evident that unless some drain is opened to convey out of the country the emancipated, the laws which relate to emancipation, must continue in force with all their rigor. Without this drain, we can hope for no repeal, or relaxation of those laws where the slaves are very numerous. The mass of slaveholders can never let go their hold on their slaves, and suffer them, ignorant, vicious and treacherous, to roam at large. If no drain is opened, necessity will compel them, as their slaves increase, and consequently the danger, to add statute to statute in regard to their slaves, until it be found necessary to arm one part of the population to control the other. I may add, that as bitter an enemy as I am to slavery, I cannot greatly desire that these laws should be relaxed – that slavery should be abolished, unless its unfortunate and degraded subjects can be removed from the country. If this is not effected, whatever may be our views and wishes on this subject, I am confident that slaveholders will justify themselves in resorting to almost any measures to keep their slaves in entire subjection.' – [An advocate of the Society in the Middletown (Ct.) Gazette.]

'To talk of emancipating the slave population of these States without providing them with an asylum, is truly idle. The free blacks already scattered through the country, are a dangerously burthensome order of people. They cannot amalgamate with the population – the ordinances of nature are against it. They must, in the main, be a degraded order, hanging loosely upon society.' – [Idem.]

'The slaves are in their possession – they are entailed upon them by their ancestors. And can they set them free, and still suffer them to remain in the country? Would this be policy? – Would it be safe? NO. When they can be transported to the soil from whence they were derived – by the aid of the Colonization Society, by government, by individuals, or by any other means – then let them be emancipated, and not before.' – [Lowell (Mass.) Telegraph.]

'Avarice and iniquity have torn from that injured continent, within thirty years, no less than 1,500,000 slaves; and cannot humanity, religion, and justice, restore an equal number in the same time? If we desire to accomplish this work, it is plain that we can do it, and that too with a sum contemptible when compared with the magnitude of the evil.' – [Address of Gabriel P. Disosway.]

'We thank God that the ultimate accomplishment of the great scheme of colonization is now placed beyond a doubt, in Maryland; and that the day is not even distant when the whole of our colored population will have transferred themselves, by our assistance, from slavery or degradation here, to peace, and plenty, and power, and prosperity, and liberty, and independence, in a land which Providence originally gave them.' – [Baltimore Gazette.]

'It tends, and may powerfully tend, to rid us gradually and entirely, in the United States, of slaves and slavery: a great moral and political evil, of increasing virulence and extent, from which much mischief is now felt, and very great calamity in future is justly apprehended.' – [First Annual Report.]

'What can be done to mitigate or prevent the existing and apprehended evils, resulting from our black population? EMANCIPATION, WITHOUT REMOVAL FROM THE COUNTRY, IS OUT OF THE QUESTION.' * * 'As long as our present feelings and prejudices exist, the abolition of slavery cannot be accomplished without the removal of the blacks – THEY CANNOT BE EMANCIPATED AS A PEOPLE, AND REMAIN AMONG US.' – [Second Annual Report of the New-York State Col. Soc.]

'It would gladly, however, grasp at a still grander object – that of restoring to the land of their fathers the whole colored race within our borders. Nor probably will it be satisfied to rest from its labors, till this object, in all its magnitude, is accomplished.' – [Rev. Baxter Dickinson's Sermon.]

'It must appear evident to all, that every endeavor to divert the attention of the community, or even a portion of the means, which the present crisis to imperatively calls for, from the Colonization Society, to measures calculated to bind the colored population to this country and seeking to raise them (an impossibility) to a level with the whites, whether by founding colleges or in any other way, tends directly in the proportion that it succeeds, to counteract and thwart the whole plan of colonization. Although none would rejoice more than myself to see this unhappy race elevated to the highest scale of human being, it has always seemed to me that this country was not the theatre for such a change. Far happier they, far happier we, had they never touched our soil, or breathed our air. As it is, to attain solid happiness and permanent respectability, they should now remove to a more congenial clime.' – [New Haven Religious Intelligencer for July, 1831.]

'The recent murderous movements of the people of color in some of the southern States, evinces the dreadful consequences of slavery, and the absolute necessity of colonizing all free blacks immediately, and of manumitting and colonizing slaves as fast as circumstances will justify the measure. We believe, and have for many years, that this is the only course, which will ensure prosperity and safety to our southern brethren.' – [New-Hampshire Observer.]

'The removal annually of one hundred thousand, it may be safely calculated, would sink the parent stock forty thousand in each year, and this in thirty years would reduce the blacks of the Union to a very small number – perhaps not one would remain.' – [National (Ohio) Historian.]

'We will demonstrate, that the conveyance of the present annual increase would, in less than thirty years, remove the whole to Africa. Let all, for instance, born in any single year, say of the age of twenty, be removed to Africa; and in each succeeding year, let all of that age be removed in the same manner. – Then, admitting, what is far too much to admit, that a generation lasts fifty years, on an average, the generation on the stage when the process commenced, would have become extinct at the end of thirty years, and all their increase or offspring would have been removed to Africa. Thirty years would, even in this way, clear them entirely from this country. – But there are two circumstances which would, in fact, make the time much shorter.

'1. It is known that a generation lasts but a little more than thirty years. The generation, then, on the stage at the commencement of the process, would virtually be extinct in a little more than ten years. 2. By the removal of the most prolific part, the annual increase would itself be diminished more than a thirtieth part, in each successive year; that is, it would be diminished in an arithmetical ratio, so that it would be reduced to nothing before the arrival of the thirtieth year.' – [American Spectator.]

'It is "a consummation devoutly to be wished," that we should get clear of the free people of color now, and as they are successively liberated, as well on their own account as ours; and I trust and hope, we shall both have the pleasure to see a moral certainty of the removal of all these poor people back to the same country from which their ancestors were taken.' – [African Repository, vol. iii. p. 311.]